One-Ness
by HermiHugs
Summary: Harry and Hermione are soul bound but Harry dies due to not being bound to his mate and so time is re-written. Even then the going is not smooth for them as they lose their magical core and are obliviated by the ministry. Good Dumbledore but his hands are tied due to Ministry. Good but misguided Ron and Ginny. A never before attempted kind of soul bond (Hopefully).
1. Chapter 1

Harry and Hermione are soul bound but Harry dies due to not being bound to his mate and so time is re-written. Even then the going is not smooth for them as they lose their magical core and are obliviated by the ministry. Good Dumbledore but his hands are tied due to Ministry. Good but misguided Ron and Ginny. A never before attempted kind of soul bond (Hopefully). Rated 'R' for innuendo, scenes of sexual nature, and some language. Alternate title was 'Shared, Power He-Knows-Not'.

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**Declaration: ****I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.**

**One-ness**

**Chapter 1**

"… It was because of me that we won. I was the one who helped Harry defeat 'You-Know-Who' and allowed him to become the 'Man-Who-Won'." As was almost a ritual from the time Lord Voldemort was defeated, Ron was back to his boasting as a gaggle of mostly witches and a few wizards who were keen to hear from the 'Golden Trio' about their role in the great war, hung onto his every word. If anyone noticed that the one who was acclaimed as the best friend of Harry Potter did not dare to say the name of the Dark Lord who he supposedly helped defeat, no one was even in a position to point it out as they were enthralled at the daring exploits.

With a mental sigh, Harry let it slide; he could not call Ron out on that, at least not in front of all these people and make him a liar, in one sense Ron did help out Harry. Harry always knew that Ron had a tendency to exaggerate things, maybe it was due to his craving for attention during his childhood or just his desire to be in the spotlight instead of his more famous friend, Harry Potter, Harry did not know but his silence gave fuel to the fire and Ron's tales became fancier. Besides, Hermione looked happy on Ron's arm; if she was happy, Harry was happy.

As Dumbledore once told him during his first year, '… it was a closely guarded secret and so naturally everyone in the castle knows about it…' Their activities during the entire year were a mystery and so everyone wanted to know what they did. Harry was never known to seek the attention and with Hermione seemingly supporting Ron, the redhead slowly became the star of their little group. More so that his words began to imply that Hermione was the brain of the operation and Harry's own role was only in the final battle to lock wands with Voldemort and then the killing curse backfired on him, again. It was only the prophecy that put Harry as the savior, and though Ron did not come out to say that he was the 'Saviour', his meaning was well evident to all the listeners. People clamouring for his words could see that it was the brilliant strategies of Ron Weasley that severely weakened Voldemort and his forces, enabling Harry Potter to play his part in fulfilling the prophecy.

At one such celebratory gathering when Hermione blatantly ignored the bare faced lies being spewed out by her boyfriend's mouth, Harry could not take it anymore. After the death of Voldemort, Harry felt a dull throb of pain near his heart that he imagined was the emotional pain whenever he saw Hermione wrapped around Ron, but recently that ache started to feel more like physical pain rather than emotional. Harry was at a loss as to what the pain was; he never heard about such a thing and after more than a year of searching for clues to defeat the Dark Lord Voldemort, he was now well versed in all kinds of pains that did not have a defined source of origin. He had his doubts as to the cause of the pain and if he was right, then there was nothing he could do to soothe his pain as he knew that he already lost the one thing, or more precisely, the one person that brought solace to his aching heart.

Harry's heart broke at the display of blind loyalty towards Ron bordering on infatuation, from Hermione. The girl with a strict moral code turned into someone who he did not recognize anymore and his heart cried with grief forcing him to turn away from the happily snapping photographers. With his head hung low, Harry walked out of the venue planning to apparate away to Grimmauld Place and drown away his sorrows and pain in a serious drinking binge, which he almost always put off but now that would be a welcome relief from the pain.

Hermione caught the flash of emotion on her best friend's face and instantly regretted her mistake; she was ashamed of herself. In her infatuation of the redhead, she ignored her other friend and the one who she considered as her best friend even through all the drama of their sixth year at school. More importantly, she was supporting the notion that made Ron into something that he clearly was not. Yes, Harry was averse to publicity but that that did not mean that she, who Harry trusted the most over everyone else in the world, could watch with a smile as his name was being smeared in the mud. She knew who the real savior was, of not only the wizarding world, but primarily herself. Harry literally died for them; he gave up so much of himself so that the wizarding public could live a life free of oppression and she was allowing the same public to sneer at their true hero.

Hermione could not honestly say why she chose not to correct Ron the very first instance his tales started to verge on the fanciful; it was not like they were already married and so she was magically bound to her husband. Yes, she wanted to marry her redheaded friend but she never wanted it at the expense of her friendship with Harry. Looking at the dejection and the disappointment on Harry's face she knew that she was on the cusp of losing her best friend, a friend who she relied heavily on when she was a social pariah at Hogwarts. He was the cog that held the so called 'Golden Trio' together and not the spare wheel Ron was beginning to portray Harry as.

Ignoring Ron's attempts to hold her back, Hermione darted after Harry who was nearing the apparition point. Hurrying her pace, she called out to the raven haired wizard, "Harry! Wait up, please Harry."

Hermione was shocked to see the tears spilling out of those emerald green eyes. The feeling of betrayal so clearly etched on his features sucked the breath out of her and struck her dumb momentarily. Harry waited for her to talk but when nothing came out of her, he voiced his own thoughts, "I get it Hermione! You do not love me like you love Ron; I have always accepted that. I bore your temper tantrums during the sixth year even after the magical night we shared." Despite the situation, his allusion to that night brought a furious blush to her cheeks; it was a magical night indeed.

Harry continued not caring for Hermione's feelings anymore, "I even indulged in Ron's fancy; I allowed him to take the spotlight just because he always craved for the attention. But I cannot take it anymore, you who were the stickler to rules and the one to keep us all grounded, now forgot all that you yourself preached. You were always ready to chastise me when it came to my mistakes but with Ron you were nearly egging him to lie to the world."

His emotion spent during his rant Harry simply sighed, "I never wanted this Hermione, all this glory, all this attention. If I knew that it would only bring me more grief, I would have happily died on that Halloween night, or on the night at the graveyard, or at the Ministry or even at the final battle. I always fought back because I had you. Now, I do not recognize the woman you are turning into, gone was the levelheaded and rational Hermione; I do not want this Hermione in my life. Good Bye…" turning on the spot he disapparated away with nary a sound.

Hermione was shocked speechless; she was not able to form a coherent reply to his tirade any way as the only thought going through her was that, 'Harry loved me, Harry Loved me, Harry loved me…' with a sigh she turned to go to the house that was previously occupied by her parents to rest before her flight trip to restore her parents' memories. She would have a lot of time on her way to Australia to sort out her thoughts on this matter; it was going to be a very long trip.

_**Shared, Power He-Knows-Not**_

A few days later in Australia…

"… and so Harry left in a huff?" Emma Granger asked her daughter, not that she blamed him.

"Yes, and I cannot really say that it was unjustified; I never realized that Harry was in love with me. It was always Ron that I considered as a husband."

The way that her daughter was fixated on Ron, she had a sudden doubt, "you are not sexually active with him are you? Are you pregnant?"

"No Mum! I am not pregnant and I am not sexually active" the thought of doing _that_ with Ron inadvertently showed up as revulsion on her face.

Emma quickly caught on that, "… and yet you are ready for marriage with him."

Hermione sighed, "I thought that it would get better with time; you know, ease into it…" she had to confide in her Mum though, "… but I am not a virgin."

Emma gave her a rueful smile, her doubts regarding that were finally confirmed, "Who was it?" she asked gently, "… was it that, what was his name, Crom?"

Hermione was confused for a moment, "Crom?... Oh! You mean Victor Krum; I did not even kiss him, no…, it was not him."

Emma Granger was a smart woman and her daughter's letters gave her plenty of clues, "It was Harry, wasn't it?"

Hermione gave her mother a sad smile, "It was one night after Sirius' death. He was hurting so bad but got no comfort from anyone. He needed that comfort and I gave him that." She paused before continuing reminiscing that night, "… that was the first time for either of us; though we did it more than once that night. As far as I know that was the only experience for either of us and it was my first kiss too…"

"… but you went ballistic on him in just a few weeks."

"He was cheating Mum! He was taking the easy route" Hermione huffed angrily.

"Hermione dear! The boy or man you just lost your virginity to is always special. He had to have a special place in your heart to even consider that act."

Hermione had a dreamy look on her face, "Oh! It was special Mum; well '_magical_' describes it better." Her emotion had a sea change after that, "… But how could I let it go when Harry was taking the easy way? He won that potion purely on the instructions of that book. That was not learning, that was cheating" she replied indignantly.

"Hermione was your anger on the fact that he upstaged you? Or was it genuinely due to the fact that he was not learning anything?" Emma asked gently. She knew that in some matters Hermione was stubborn and when it came to classes, it was even more so. Before Hermione could answer though she continued, "Dear, didn't you say that Harry was especially weak at potions and that too not due to any of his fault. Wasn't that Snape particularly hard on him, most of the time just because he could?"

Hermione had a thoughtful look on her face but had to acknowledge her mother's words. Emma continued gently, trying to get her daughter to understand the workings of a teenage male's mind, "… to him it could have been a chance to do something good for once in a class that was notoriously difficult for him. Yes, it was a shortcut but for him it was a golden opportunity to impress you, show you that he could be better at something if he was given a chance."

Hermione was dumbstruck; she never thought it that way but her mother was drilling her point home, "didn't he offer to share not only the book but also the potion he won with you?"

"He did share the potion with us all…" Hermione interjected.

Emma gave her head an emphatic nod, "Did you even take a look at the extra instructions? How were you so sure that they were dangerous?"

Hermione began to deflate; "It was still the wrong thing to do" she defended weakly. "How would he learn otherwise? He had to learn it properly if he was to get into the auror program."

"Did you explain your reasons to him or did you just rant at him?" Hermione hung her head and the meaning was clear. "Your behavior towards him despite the '_magical_' night might have told him that it was just a one night stand and you were interested in nothing more."

Hermione snorted, "It isn't like Harry ever showed me that he was interested in me."

"… and Ron was that obvious?" Emma challenged.

"Yes!" was the reply stressed out with equal force.

Emma was incensed, "Hermione Jane Granger! I don't believe you."

"Mum!" Hermione cried in protest.

"Just because a boy drools over you or makes cow eyes at you does not mean that he truly loves you and at the same time if a boy does not do that it does not make him being any less in love with you."

Hermione wanted to protest that, the way Ron used to glance subtly at her used to send her pulse racing and then his charming smile! But then Hermione remembered the way boys used to drool at Fleur and how disgusting it looked to her at that time and Ron was a master at that. She also remembered Harry's words about how Ron was trying to follow the book '12 fail safe ways to woo witches' and now she realized that it could never have been Ron at all without that book. It felt so romantic at that time when Harry told her, but now she could see the irony in that; was she so shallow that only a book could let her see what she wanted to see? At the same time, why could she not give Harry the same lee-way with the 'Half Blood Prince's' book?

By the change in her daughter's countenance, Emma thanked the heavens that Hermione was finally using that formidable brain of hers and so she pressed home her advantage, "If you had something exciting to share, who would be the first on your mind?"

Hermione replied without a pause or a thought, "Harry."

"If you wanted to talk about something academic, who would you turn to, Harry or Ron?"

"Harry."

"Why?"

Hermione sighed, she could finally see what her mother was trying to tell her, "Harry would listen to me, while Ron would either berate me that I was mental or stomp away in anger."

"Who would open doors for you? Wait till you were seated and then sit?"

Hermione knew that she was beaten; heck she did not want to win that argument as there was no comparison between the two in that department. Then she perked up, there was nothing specially directed at her in Harry's behavior, "Harry does that for everyone…" only to trail off as she had to chide herself, Harry was really courteous to everyone even Greengrass, who was in Slytherin house while Ron was extremely prejudiced. His overbearing opinions even carried over to most of the things that Hermione loved. Ron even called their good friend Luna, 'Loony'; she knew that names could be hurtful even if they were not said in malice. Hermione could not be sure that there indeed was no malice in Ron's choice of words for the spacey blonde though. Could she really live her life with someone who did not even have some common courtesy, not counting the one that was directed towards her; but then again that was probably an act directed by a book!

Hermione really wanted to get away from her mother to really think over things but Emma was oblivious to the tumult that she created in her daughter's thoughts. "Let's suppose that you called Ron away when he was doing something that he was really interested in, like…" and then she stopped stumped. She knew nothing about Ron even though she was Hermione's boyfriend, but knew that Harry loved flying, cooking, and gardening and that was all through Hermione's letters. Didn't her daughter realize that?

Hermione had a rueful smile by now, "… quidditch, food, and chess; and not necessarily in that order" she supplied. She did not have anything in common with him in that and truth be told, she did not consider them to be healthy pursuits; opposites attract, but this was ridiculous.

"Three things that you have nothing to do with…" Emma concurred. "Would he leave that and come with you just because you wanted to go for, say a walk?" she did not wait for a reply as she knew the answer, "… while Harry life his date with his _girlfriend_ to go with you, trusting you even though he did not know where to."

"He knew me longer than he knew Cho" Hermione tried but her spirit was not in the argument as her mother had browbeaten her about the worst mistake she had made in her life.

"Yes, true but she was his girlfriend!"

"Who dumped him immediately after that incident" Hermione reminded her mother.

Emma only took it as an encouraging sign for the love the remarkable young man had for her daughter, "Not everyone can show their love or what they think is love, in the same way dear" she paused while in her mind she added, 'take it from me I had the personal experience' but aloud she continued, "Some like Ron or even that boy Krum are too obvious while some like Harry are subtle but sincere."

Hermione made one last ditch effort to explain why she never even considered the possibility that Harry was in love with her, "… but Harry always like girls like Parvati, Cho, Luna, or Ginny who are gorgeous."

Emma agreed with that, "Maybe but who did he confide in the most." With a thoughtful look she asked, "What about the girl that Ron dated, Lavender brown?"

Hermione snorted, "She was the classical example of a buxom blonde."

Emma gave her a stern glare, "Yet you can give the benefit of the doubt when it comes to Ron's choice of girls and you, but not Harry. It's very hypocritical of you; Ron actually dated that girl a lot longer than Harry, even all the girls he went out on a date with put together."

Hermione scrunched her eyebrows together and cast her mind back, "Come to think of it, Harry only went out with Ginny when it was obvious even to a blind bat that I was dead set on snagging Ron. He never got back together with her after the war like everyone thought he would."

Emma looked at her daughter for a very long time, "As a mother, I want the best for my daughter and my heart tells me that Harry's the best out there and that too from anecdotal evidence but you know him."

"Harry did actually tell me that he was in love with me" Hermione reminded her mother, "… but what I don't understand is why he never told me before" she cried in frustration.

Emma was pensive but finally turned to alarm, "Do you think that he never hoped to survive the war?"

Hermione was horrified as the truth of that question struck her hard, "Oh! My god" she cried and buried her face in her hands trying to stem the flow of tears. 'The Prophecy!' she screamed in her mind; the choice of a winner between a wizard who had a streak of ruthlessness and over fifty years of combat experience and someone who just attained his majority, was a no-brainer.

Emma rubbed her daughter's back in an effort to calm her down and replied in a sympathetic tone, "If he wanted you to be happy, the last thing he would have wanted was a relationship with you. Even though he would have desperately wanted to be with you, he would have held himself back knowing that he may not survive the war and added to that your abominable behavior towards him your sixth year at school would have convinced him that not having a relationship with you would be the best thing."

Hermione gave her mother a tearful look, "I have messed up badly, didn't I?'

"Yes, you did dear" her mother spelled it out for her.

Hermione was silent, probably analyzing all they discussed in multiple angles, trying to find any other possible explanations for her to defend her decision to go after Ron. However hard she tired, she could not find fault either with Harry or with herself, maybe except for the choice of a boyfriend she made. Ron was a good guy, one of her best friends but if she had to compare him with Harry, Ron would fall miserably short of expectations for a good boyfriend and the best husband. She was confident that she could mold Ron the way she wanted and that was why she pursued him despite the many fights they had; but then would she want to be overbearing and dominate her husband like Molly Weasley did? Would it lead to a blissful married life or would it lead her husband to find solace in a shed filled with meaning less muggle junk? That was not what she wanted in a married life; she wanted harmony but was beginning to fear that she would never get it with Ron.

To cut Hermione's analysis short, Emma began to share her own experience, one which she vowed never to talk to her daughter about. It was too humiliating to her even after these years, but if her disgrace would lend her daughter the will to reach out for the best, then she would bear it. "Before I married Dan, I was engaged to another guy." Hermione's eyes widened in surprise, she never expected that.

Emma gave her a wry grin, "My fiancé was a very popular guy, a proper jock, all the girls were after him. I did not know him really well, at least not as well as I knew Dan who was my best friend. Dan was shy, quiet and really introvert but when the chips were down, he always came through. I never thought Dan was interested in me; he was my best friend after all."

Emma paused trying to collect her thoughts but also gave Hermione the chance to hammer out the similarities between their lives. Ron was not definitely a jock but he was slowly turning into one; she could see the fame going to his head and he was already beginning to enjoy the attention of all the girls clamouring for him even with Hermione on his arm. On the other hand, Harry was popular but he was the opposite of a jock, he never took advantage of the girls throwing themselves at him; if at all he tried to avoid them as much as he could. He definitely was like his father right down to his moral fiber.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her mother, "One month before I was to get married, Dan came to my parent's house and he gave me a big shock. He told me that he loved me but now he could not recognize the woman I was turning into…" she was interrupted by a gasp but continued after Hermione's gesture, "… his exact words were 'the Emma Robinson I knew was not this giggling fan girl; she was a level headed mature woman. I do not recognize this new woman who replaced her' with that said he bid me goodbye and left." A few tears were beginning to shine in her eyes.

Hermione looked at her mother with tears threatening to flow out, "Those were almost exactly the words Harry told me."

Emma looked at her sharply, "Really? Did he say recognize, or just understand?"

Hermione really did not catch her mother's intent but still replied, "Understand, well except the giggling fan girl part."

Emma nodded her head in understanding, "Dan understood the new Emma alright, he understood what I was turning into but he was unable to recognize the new me as the Emma he loved and he did not like the new Emma one bit."

The tears in Hermione's eyes began to overflow, "Harry did not want this petty, self-centered, and infatuated Hermione Granger in his life."

Emma wiped a few stray tears from her eyes, "I was shocked; but I was also angry at Dan. At that time I was not sure why I was angry, that Dan told me that he loved me or that he said that just as I was going to get married. I ranted and raved for two days but when I calmed down, I realized that Dan never lied to me; he might have tried to keep his love for me to subtle gestures that I chose to interpret otherwise, but he always looked out for me." She blew out a pained breath, "I went to my fiancé's friends and demanded to know what upset Dan and they finally told me that Dan fought with him. My fiancé was apparently quite drunk and was boasting that 'prim and proper Emma Robinson was finally his' and after he fucked me all the ways he could, he would move to the next in line."

"No!" Hermione cried out covering her mouth in horror. Her reaction was very mild compared to the state her mother was in; even after many years that memory was still painful to Emma. Hermione embraced her mother trying to soothe her pain.

Emma regained her composure and looked pleading at Hermione, "I am not saying that Ron would do that honey. His feelings and behavior towards you might very well be genuine; but I have to ask you to think carefully. Would Ron who blatantly lied to discredit his best friend, the one who not only saved Ron's life but also that of his father and sister at very great danger to himself, would he not find ways to make himself look good against you even if he was in the wrong? Would he support your achievements when his obvious jealousy caused him to desert Harry and You in the tent? Would he be truly happy for you or would he try and proclaim it as his achievement, would he even support a career that might bring you better recognition than him?"

"I am always a little insecure with the amount of beautiful girls that try to catch Ron's attention now that he is famous" Hermione confessed softly, "Surprisingly; it was never the case with Harry. With him I always feel secure … and safe."

They sat in silence for a few moments before Emma decided to finish her tale, "I was devastated and naturally called off the wedding, but I have had already slept with him. I was in a right state for a week and found that it was made worse due to the absence of one Dan Granger. I looked every place that Dan frequented but could not find him." Emma blew out a harsh breath, "Your grandmother asked me if I loved Dan Granger."

Hermione got a brilliant smile from her mother at those words which she could not help but return. "What I knew deep down in my heart came out of my lips at that time unbidden; I loved Dan Granger. I was utterly and completely in love with Dan Granger."

Emma broke into her thoughts, "Whatever you do talk to Harry; analyze your feelings but first and foremost apologize to him about your behavior in condoning Ron's blatant lies. Give a press conference if needed. If your feelings still tell you to get together with Ron then explain that to Harry but if you realize otherwise then beg him, beg him as I did with Dan to give you another chance." She laughed beautifully and then quirked an eyebrow at Hermione.

During the time she spent looking for her parents, Hermione did nothing but go through all the years and her interactions with Harry and Ron. If she excluded the sixth year, the bottom line was that Harry always made her smile and Ron made her cry. With the new light shone by her mother at Harry's probable feelings towards her and his reasons for keeping her at arm's length, Hermione rehashed her observations. She always had a special place in her heart for Harry and it certainly was clear that she was very important to him. Even with the fight in their sixth year, Harry tried to make things right with her but Ron and Lavender only tried to rub it in her face. Even when she was at odds with Harry, he still gave her a shoulder to cry on and he even left Luna to help her out during Slughorn's party. Ron on the other hand began being nice with her only after he broke up with Lavender, was it all due to that book? By now she was convinced that it was.

Even with the stress of the horcrux hunt, it was Harry and Hermione that grew closer and did most of the work even with Ron's constant nagging. After the events of the Malfoy Manor, it was in Harry's arms that she found comfort for the night; though they just held each other and nothing else, she felt safe something which she had to search hard when Ron tried to comfort her.

When she was with Harry, it was always her own feelings that took first priority but with Ron it was always his. Then during the hunt she struck with Harry and not Ron just because of the promise she made or was it her love for Harry that made her stick with him? She was not sure but one thing was sure, she always chose Harry over the others be it Krum, Ron, or even her parents. If that was not love she was not sure what was!

How was it that she forgot all of this and yearned for Ron, when it was almost always Harry that she looked for security and assurance? She could not explain why she never sought to reiterate their night of passion ever again when it was the best experience of her life. Hermione wondered, if she repeated that experience before the damn potions book drove a wedge between Harry and her, would they have been even married by now? She did not know but one thing was clear, throughout all of this Harry was her world, Harry was her rock, Harry was her…, she realized with an involuntary gasp … her love and her soul mate.

Hermione shook her head and with a smile that nearly split her face she replied to her mother's unasked question, "Mum, I am utterly and completely in love with Harry Potter." Emma beamed at her daughter and hugged her tight, all her worries melting away.

Hermione though gave her a weak smile, "… but I looked everywhere Mum, I could not find him. I may not have the happy ending you've had."

Emma giggled like a little girl, "I will give you the advice my mother gave me. 'Yes, you've looked for him but now hunt him'."

_**Shared, Power He-Knows-Not**_

Hermione felt overwhelmed, the revelations that the talk with her mother brought about and her own high strung emotions forced her to retire early. She entered her room but was so distracted with her thoughts to realize that someone was waiting for her and so was startled when the man spoke in a surprisingly gentle voice, "Realized it a little late, haven't you?"

Hermione nearly jumped out of her skin and searched frantically for her wand but could not remember where she put it. She berated herself, 'where was constant vigilance' when she needed it? "Who are you?" she managed to settle her nerves enough to ask the man. Now that she had the chance to see him properly, Hermione was awed at the aura that the man was projecting. He was dressed all in white and had a beard longer than Dumbledore and if she had to give him a name, he would have been 'Gandalf the White' from the book 'The Lord of the Rings'.

"I am the creator" the man replied without any airs.

Hermione's mouth opened in shock, "You are joking!" she exclaimed finally.

"I am known to joke occasionally" the man smirked at her, "but now, no I am not joking".

Words failed Hermione, she was just rendered speechless and continued to stare at the man incredulously; the thought of questioning the identity of the man never occurred to her. Still, she could not temper the utter fear that began in the pit of her stomach; she knew that something was wrong. "What are you hiding from me? What are you not telling me?" she inquired without no less amount of panic.

The man who introduced himself as the creator ignored her and continued where he left off, "I created the two of you, Hermione Granger and your soul mate Harry Potter, for one reason only and that was to ward off the darkness that was threatening to take over the world. Harry Potter and you were the only two capable of doing it and then gone on to live happy lives together; you were the perfect soul mates."

Hermione's surprise slowly turned to curiosity during the recital and now her eyes lit up, "Oh! Not the mystical flash of light with your first kiss needed to be with your soul mate…"

Her enthusiasm was not even given a notice as the creator rambled on, "… you were meant to complement each other perfectly, without the other half you were less than perfect. You would have curbed Harry Potter's impetuousness; if he had someone, you know, to sort of come home to, he would have been more careful. Oh! He would still leap at danger, that's who he is after all, but he would have looked before. You would have made him a better man by overriding his ingrained habit of underachieving."

Hermione gasped in shock, she always felt that Harry was intelligent but did not put in the effort because of his laziness but now she knew otherwise. The creator gave her a knowing look, "… yes, his relatives taught him the hard way that proving to be smarter than his cousin was a quick way to starvation and you know that old habits die hard. It was not meant to be that way; they were only to be hard disciplinarians but…" he shrugged it off.

Tears sprung into her eyes again, she thought that she expended all that she could during her talk with her mother but she apparently had an endless supply today. 'Oh! Harry. I am so sorry; I should have done something. I should have spotted the signs' she could only commiserate with herself.

The creator was not done yet, "Harry in turn would have taught you that the only one you really have to prove to was yourself, not your teachers and certainly not your peers. He would have made you more sociable and that would have taught you that authority figures are not totally infallible. They have their own opinions which need not always be right, they are human after all."

For once the creator looked remorseful, "I admit that I did not make it easy for either of you. Both of you did not have any siblings and so the selfless love you had for each other was classed as the love for a sibling by both of you. It was the furthest from the truth; the desire to protect the other at all costs, even sacrificing oneself, that is the love of a soul mate not of a brother or a sister."

Hermione was thankful that it was not all her or Harry's fault; they were mostly misled by the highest power himself. The creator heaved a tired sigh, "I usually do not take an active interest in the lives I created once they are sent to earth, but you both were special cases. I should have taken a more hands on approach with you both. Everything was going on fine until your sixth year; I would have thought that your soul mate doing well would have pleased you but it was not to be. That only shows that even I do not know for sure what goes on in a woman's mind." He heaved a dramatic sigh and Hermione giggled in spite of the situation, "I am afraid, I did not take into account your stubbornness and your fierce adherence to rules which was not tempered due to your failure to form a bond with Harry Potter." He then muttered to himself barely audible for Hermione to hear, "I would have to tweak it a bit but then again, getting together with Harry Potter would be enough."

The creator turned to Hermione with a stern gaze that frightened her, "All of this would have made the task you were born to accomplish much easier, instead, Harry Potter was killed by Voldemort and I had to use my special privilege to send him back."

That was enough to jolt Hermione out of her shock, "Wait a minute; send him back? I was told that Voldemort's soul piece in him protected him."

The creator gave her an indulgent smile, "A killing curse removes the soul, and it's never selective or would only stop with one."

Hermione was horrified at the implications of that; did Dumbledore not know about that? Even through her shock she wanted to know, "… but Harry and I kissed and even more; shouldn't we already have had formed the soul bond?"

"Not if he was already bonded."

Hermione was perplexed; as far as she knew there could not be any others that Harry could have bonded to, certainly not to Cho. But then realization struck her, "Harry had a soul bond with Voldemort?" she asked incredulously. The dreadful feeling she had at seeing the creator in her room suddenly intensified many times over.

"He had a piece of that man's soul sticking in him, what do you think?" the creator shot back.

Silence met his statement but it sounded like the death knell to Hermione. "You do know what happens when a bonded mate was to die and the soul bond is broken, don't you?"

All her fears were now confirmed, "Yes" she replied with tears in her eyes leaking into her voice, "the other mate's magic loses control and destroys the body in a short time."

"If his magic found its intended mate soon after the bond was broken, he could have been saved. Yes, it would have been painful but he would not have lost his life."

The penny finally dropped and Hermione was inconsolable; thankfully the room was totally sound proof and so her cries of intolerable pain were not heard by any other living soul. "No, I will not accept that. You are the creator, bring him back" she demanded.

The creator shrugged his shoulders as if he was not concerned with that; truthfully he already talked to Harry and he was not happy. When he was told about the plan that the creator wanted to implement, Harry sent him to talk to Hermione; he trusted her to take the final decision which was beneficial to all and not just to him. Now when the creator was in the mortal realm, and heard the discussion between mother and the daughter he was confident that his plan would be put in motion; but he wanted to clarify some things with Hermione, not that she would remember the discussion when the time came but he was willing to provide them the information when needed.

"I have had a wild card to use in such instances, but for Harry Potter I've already used it to bring him back to life once he was killed by Voldemort, as the blight had to be removed. With the fog of a corrupted soul lifted, Harry's thoughts and feelings were clear for the first time in his life; but it was a little too late. His magic was already out of control, he knew for sure who his soul mate was but at the same time was also sure that she did not know about it. Even if you knew, you looked unwilling to accept it as was evident by your display of throwing yourself at his best mate, who actually turned out to be a loud mouthed wind bag."

Hermione was aware of the saying that the importance of a person cannot be truly known until that person was no longer with you. The shock of Harry's death hit her with the force of a stick of dynamite exploding in her face. She could not stem the tide of tears even if she wanted to; the loss of her best friend could not be filled even by the thought of a smiling Ron for every thought of the laughing redhead was inevitably followed by countless experiences of rebuffs, putdowns and downright insults.

It was finally clear to Hermione that Harry made the insults bearable; his mere presence, his gentle smile and even his unspoken support meant a lot to her. She realized that she was a victim to the old adage of 'bickering like an old married couple'. In the heart of her heart Hermione knew that what she did with Ron was not bicker, no she argued with him and some might even say that they fought. She wondered why she never accepted that fact. The answer involuntarily made itself known, she took the easy way out rather than fighting against an accepted view that was clearly wrong in every sense; she bowed to the pressure of expectations.

Hermione wiped her tears away, if only to make way for fresh ones. All these thoughts, these realizations were of no use to her now; Harry was gone forever, "Take me to Harry" Hermione begged the creator, "I cannot live without him. I don't know how I did not realize it before but there's no life here for me without Harry anymore."

The creator looked with sympathy at her but inside he was dancing for joy, 'Finally!' he thought. This would make way for his plan for a much brighter future to the wizarding world than what it was destined to without the influence of Harry and Hermione Potter. He still had to incorporate a few nuggets of information into Hermione's sub-consciousness, the way he already did for Harry.

"There were two instances in your life when the horcrux in Harry Potter came close to be removed with a little push."

Hermione was confused but more importantly she no longer had an interest to listen as she was hoping with all her heart that she would be able to jump into her soul mate's arms soon. The creator's voice however was forcing her to pay attention, "The first was when Harry Potter destroyed the body that was hosting the spirit of Voldemort in your first year and he was rendered into a wraith once again. The other was when he destroyed one of Voldemort's horcruxes the next year."

"The damn diary!" Hermione cursed vehemently interrupting the creator's tirade.

"… The soul piece within Harry Potter felt the destruction and was fidgeting to get out fearing for itself. Yes, if that was removed at that time, it would have been destroyed but the soul piece did not know that. In either instance, if you both formed your own soul bond as it was meant to be, then the soul piece within Harry Potter would have been destroyed and it would not have been too painful, at least to you. Your magic was more compatible that Voldemort's and so it would have easily displaced the perverted soul bond and latched onto Harry Potter's magic leading to the destruction of the soul piece. There was no need for you to form the bond immediately after the incidents, a couple of weeks were allowed."

Hermione was unable to say anything; she only regretted that she did not have had this information when it was needed. Then again, this was the creator; it was not like he would have written any books on this topic. She was roused out of her musings by the creator, "Even though yours was the best, I even threw in a couple of others that could have taken your place in the worst case scenario. The next closest was Luna Lovegood and then Ginerva Weasley but both of them had a very slim chance to form a bond powerful enough to drive away the soul piece out and none once the bond was broken."

"But we did have sex" Hermione protested.

"Yes" the creator agreed, "… but it was after Voldemort was reborn and the bond between their souls was strengthened. If you gave yourself to Harry Potter after Voldemort was dead, it would have breached the fissure in Harry Potter's soul and you would have been Hermione Potter."

Hermione worried her lip in contemplation, "So anytime in the first or second year we could have kissed and then completed the soul bond?"

The creator laughed a little nervously, Hermione Granger's temper was legendary even in the heavenly realms rivaling Lily Potter's. "A kiss would not have completed a soul bond, that's just a myth. It needs an act of pure love…"

Hermione nearly screeched in indignation, "You wanted us to have sex in our first year."

The creator cringed, "I admit that eleven and twelve was a little too early but any time before Voldemort gained a body would have been perfect."

Hermione calmed down a bit after that, she would have been fifteen and Harry would have been fourteen. The Yule Ball would have been perfect; she could imagine the romantic setting leading to kissing and then to much more. That image brought a fond smile to her face but it all came crashing down when she remembered, "… but all off this is of no use isn't it" Hermione sighed.

The creator looked at her shrewdly, "Are you prepared to lose your identity? Are you prepared to be '_one'_ with Harry Potter?"

Hermione paused, would she like to be a mindless drone without having any say in matters, 'no'. "Would I lose my individuality?" she asked.

For the first time, the creator had a genuine smile and beamed at her, "No! You will be your own person but you will be known as a partner to Harry Potter."

She could live with that, "Yes, I am ready to die and join Harry" she replied with conviction.

The creator laughed heartily at her, "Oh! You are not going to die; you are going to live with your soul mate."

Hermione did not understand how that could be possible, unless; her eyes widened at the implication, "No!" she exclaimed, "you cannot do that, you cannot turn back time."

The creator looked affronted, "I am the creator; of course I can do that. Besides, I am not going to turn time back; I am going to rewrite time." The creator began to grow fuzzy as if in preparation to return to wherever he had to be and do whatever he had to do.

"Wait! Will I remember any of this?"

The creator gave her a sly smile, "No, but you will remember one thing."

"… And that is?" Hermione asked with impatience.

"Talk to Harry Potter."

* * *

A/N: I have put my other fiction, 'With You By My Side' on hold temporarily. I have the plot all laid out but putting it into words is what is proving to be a difficulty. I promise that I will finish it but may take some time to do that. I hope that you will enjoy this story as much as you have enjoyed my others.


	2. Chapter 2

**Declaration: ****I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.**

**One-ness**

**Chapter 2**

'Talk to Harry. I need to talk to Harry' that was the only thing that was going through Hermione's mind. The events that happened on this Christmas day weighed heavily on her conscience and sleep was the furthest from her thoughts. What started as a fun filled day rapidly turned disastrous very quickly, '… and all because of a blasted broomstick' she fumed.

She could not bring herself to think that she was in the wrong; after all it was not new that a broomstick was cursed to cause harm to her best friend. It happened before and with the notorious mass murderer, Sirius Black apparently after Harry again, she was justifiably cautious. Then again, she knew that she should have handled it better; Harry was a reasonable boy and he would almost always listen to her whenever she explained her point of view rationally and logically. It did not help matters that Ron was egging him on to basically cut Hermione off; she could honestly admit that she was in the wrong when she went behind Harry's back to report to McGonagall but she believed herself right when it came to being suspicious of the unknown sender of the present.

It was still Christmas day or night rather, with more than an hour to go but Hermione was still dressed in her skirt and blouse and the draughty castle forced her to pull on a thick woolen jumper too; the lateness of the night meant that she was back in the deserted girls' dormitory. Not that she could stay in the common room with a dejected Harry and a fuming Ron even if she wanted to, but still sleep looked impossible now. Resigned to a sleepless night, Hermione grabbed the nearest book on her nightstand and trudged down to the common room; she resolved to talk to Harry the first thing in the morning. Even if she was convinced that she was right, she was going to apologize to Harry; she could not afford to lose her best friend, at least not over a damn piece of wood and twigs. Her steps faltered when she came onto the last step of the stairs leading to the common room and came to a stop when she spotted a head of messy black hair, with his back to her sitting on the couch and staring into the common room fire.

Harry Potter was now a thirteen year old wizard but sitting in the Gryffindor common room that night of Christmas he knew for sure that he blew away possibly the best friend he had in his short life. Ron was his best mate but Hermione was his best friend and if it came to that he would probably put his girl friend even above Ron. Not that Ron was a bad guy but was almost always confrontational, his mouth runs off easily and added to his atrocious behavior towards anyone who he was not in agreement with, especially Hermione, Harry began reanalyzing his priorities that night. Harry was honest enough to acknowledge the unknowing role Hermione played in helping him begin to get over his inherent tendency to slack off rather than spend his time studying. He also knew that without her selfless help Ron might have even failed the first year at.

Then there was this Christmas Day and the blazing row with Hermione over the fastest broomstick available, the Firebolt. He understood Ron's infatuation with quidditch and the obvious anger at Harry losing the best broom there could be, but what he did not understand was his own reluctance to step in and stop the row. Oh! Harry was angry at Hermione too, not angry at her getting the Broom to McGonagall to strip it down and check for hexes but angry that she took away the most expensive Christmas present that he had every got and without his being aware of her actions too.

Presents for him were like water to a parched throat, having received nothing before his entry into to the Magical world, but that still did not excuse his behavior towards his best friend. He was now worried if Hermione would even want to continue as his friend, especially after the way she ran away, tears in her eyes. Calming down, Harry analyzed his actions and knew that he was wrong, 'wrong to be angry at Hermione since she was only looking out for him as she always does' he thought with a wry smile. It had happened before, Quirrell tried to kill him when he was atop a broomstick. He was wrong to be goaded by Ron and take it out on the pretty and faithful friend.

His introspection in the quiet of the night brought him to the startling conclusion that not only Ron but even he might have barely scraped through his first year if not for Hermione's help. He was not stupid but he was easily goaded by Ron to slack off and not put his best effort towards his studies, and worse he was very good at Math and now with Ron's insistence shied away from its complimentary subject in the wizarding world, Arithmancy. Whichever way he looked, there were two important subjects that could help him a lot in getting a good career. He was considered to be the best student at defense and he neglected to take the one subject that was complementary to his best subject, Ancient Runes. Being guided by Ron to take divination and getting his death predicted every class did not sit well with him.

Harry did not like where his current decisions were taking him, he definitely was not proud of his behavior and his current state of taking it easy; he decided that he had to man up and take the blame and then do something to rectify it. But first, he had only one thing to do, he had to apologize to Hermione and beg for her forgiveness.

Harry was not as alone as he thought he was in the common room, not only his best friend came down the stairs from the Girls' dorm but his head of house professor McGonagall was also in there. The professor was in her kneazle animagus form patrolling the castle and seeing Harry, was about to transform back to get him to go to bed. Before she could move however, she saw that Hermione came down; she was aware of the row between the two best friends, part of which was due to the fact that both of them were socially awkward, and decided not to interfere now when it looked as if the two were about to make up.

Harry sensed that his best friend was staring at him with trepidation and a little hurt but the unmistakable fear in her eyes was tangible to him even without looking at her. He was not sure how he knew all of this without even turning to look at her but in his heart he knew that Hermione was standing near the stairs and was hurting, and all because of his immaturity. Wordlessly he lifted his left arm and held it there as if to invite her to snuggle into him so that he could wrap her under his arm.

Hermione was surprised that Harry knew that she was standing near the stairs even without turning his head to look at her. She saw Harry lift his arm and she knew that gesture very well as there were many days when they sat in the same position in front of the fire with his arm around her shoulders. She instinctively knew that everything was fine again in her world and with a small smile creeping in, she sat beside him on the couch and snuggled into him with his arm drawing her close to his side.

The feline that was McGonagall was shocked at the display, if she was not already on her all her four limbs, she would have been quickly acquainted with the plush carpet of the Gryffindor common room, still she was barely able to have a coherent thought. 'Why… what… How?' were the only things going through her mind at the speed of lightning. Finally when she was able to calm herself down enough, the ramifications of what she saw truly hit home, 'Are they on the cusp of forming a bond?' that was the only aspect of a relationship that McGonagall knew which could give her an answer to the amazing display of nonverbal communication skill that she witnessed. She resolved to keep a firm eye on the pair before they make an inadvertent mess of the unique relationship, not that Harry and Hermione would throw away the strong friendship they had even if they did not know about a soul bond, they were far too smart. But before she could draw any permanent conclusions she would hit the books first and then let them know.

Before McGonagall could move and confront the two teenagers about the lateness of the night, the silence of the common room was broken by a desperate pleading, "I am so sorry Hermione, I had no right to be angry at you. You were only trying to protect me and like a git I shouted at you. I made you cry and that too over something which I am sure you are right, like always. I know that I will be indebted to when the truth comes out. I do not know how you can stand my childishness but if you forgive me, I will do my best to make you proud of me."

The heartfelt and agonizing confession from her best friend not only soothed her own ache but also pushed her confidence up. Hermione discerned that she was one of the most important people in Harry's life if not the most important. She was also gratified that Harry owned up to his mistakes and just not try to push them away or place the blame on Ron even though it was the partly the redhead's fault for the current situation. Hermione thought to simply wave away the apology now that her friendship with Harry was back to where it was this morning. She, however wanted more and if their friendship had to evolve into a relationship, she had to show Harry that his words hurt her.

Taking a deep breath and a small prayer that she was not about to screw up badly, Hermione looked into her heart for a proper response and thus it was as heartfelt as Harry's own confession was. "I will not lie to you Harry, it hurt me and badly. I could take the reaction from Ron but your reaction hurt me the most; I was even ready to apologize to you just to save your friendship, even if I knew that I was doing the right thing." She could not halt the few tears that leaked from her eyes.

More than anything, the tears running down her face plunged a knife into Harry's heart; he gently wiped away the tears and hugged her tighter. "You are not the one to be apologizing Hermione, I am the one that let Ron goad me into a confrontation with you. Yes, I was upset that I lost one of the best Christmas presents that I ever got but I should not have let my anger control my actions. I should have been rational and let you explain your actions. In the time I have known you, you always had a good reason for your actions; you are more important to me not a broomstick, even if it was a firebolt."

Hermione's tears intensified but this time it was more out of relief than grief and even though Harry was agitated at the fresh bout, he was not that clueless not to notice the beaming smile Hermione had on her face. So he simply held her close and let the warmth of the embrace calm his own fears.

"Harry" Hermione asked tentatively, she could not get rid of the nagging feeling that this was something important and that they needed to get it out into the open, "I never thought you to be materialistic, I know that you have enough money to buy yourself a firebolt if needed…"

Harry was not sure if he wanted to tell anyone about his abysmal life before coming to Hogwarts, but this was Hermione, his best friend. The warmth in the pit of his stomach and the sense of calmness he felt while holding Hermione was something that he wanted all his life. Hermion He did not want to have any secrets from the girl who he was hoping to be not just his girlfriend but his life partner too, that is if she did not run to the hills after hearing his tale, "You have to really understand why I was angry Hermione, the only Christmas presents I ever got were from You, Ron, and his family. The first present I ever got from the Dursleys was fifty pence…" Hermione was not sure if that was such a bad present until Harry finished, "… and that was during my first year. I am sure they sent it because I could not spend it in the wizarding world."

Hermione was never so shocked and angry as she was now; she really wanted to rant and rave but held herself as she did not want to embarrass Harry. Besides she felt so comfortable in his arms and if Harry was feeling anything like that at the moment she did not want to deprive him of the comfort. She merely shook her head in sympathy and tightened her hold around his waist while moving just an inch towards settling herself in his lap. McGonagall was having a hard time to contain herself too, both not to apparate away to the Dursley household and giving them a piece of her mind and to take Harry in her arms and comfort him. The later was taken care of in a much better way than what she could do and so contented herself to stay in the shadows and listen. If she was not mistaken these confessions would only serve to strengthen the bond between the two, that is if they were willing to stay close even after the revelations.

"My first real present was Hedwig from Hagrid and so someone else giving me something really valuable and then have it taken away, made me act like a jerk to you." Now that he spilt his heart out he was willing to go the distance, "The only things meaningful that I get are some chocolate frogs and a home knit sweater and books from you." Harry suddenly realized how his words could be misconstrued and hurried to placate the witch in his arms… or was it lap, "Oh! I absolutely love them and I really enjoy the books; I know it's the thought that counts after all, but the thought of owning something far more valuable and that it was the latest in the market clouded my emotions."

Now that the dam broke a torrent spewed forth; Harry poured all the tales of verbal and emotional abuse he endured at the hands of his relatives. Apart from a few knocks to his knuckles when he reached for something in his cousin's hand from his aunt, he was thankful that the abuse was not physical, if it was he was quite confident that he could not stop Hermione from delivering it onto them many fold. He told her of the nightmares centering on the fateful Halloween night, his fears that he was somehow involved in a struggle for power between the 'light' and the 'dark' side, and if he was, his questions about the lack of any specialized training for him to survive, and finally his own lack of motivation to do well at school due to the painful reminders of the abuse if he did better than a dunce that was his cousin.

As Harry's tale continued, so did Hermione's anguish at the horrors that his best friend had to endure in his short life. If she thought that her lack of friends during primary school and all the taunting she had to endure was painful, then she could not fathom the pain it must have caused Harry. She had to face it from people who were not close to her, but it was Harry's so called family that visited the abuse on him. It was for the better that Hermione did not know the inadvertent role that headmaster Dumbledore played on Harry's upbringing, otherwise she would have vented her anger on the aged wizard. McGonagall however had no such qualms, and she swore to do her best not only to berate his boss but also to take an active interest in Harry's well-being from now on.

After a good cry, a companionable silence descended on the Common room. Seeing that Harry was in good hands, McGonagall began to make her silent exit for a final patrol before retiring for the night; she was heartened to hear Harry state his intentions to learn Arithmancy and Ancient Runes from Hermione and the gleeful acceptance from the witch. 'Yes! Harry Potter was in good hands."

Both the teens were emotionally drained and tired too but were not willing to part even for the night. Riding on his fledging courage, Harry voiced his thought, "Hermione, can we sleep together?"

Hermione looked at him open mouthed and the split second it took for her to actually register what Harry meant was enough for the green eyed wizard to fidget, but before he could try and elaborate or worse backtrack, Hermione silenced him with her forefinger on his lips. "I would like that very much Harry. I know we are much too young for that…" She blushed brightly at the vision that inadvertently encroached into her mind, "… but I would like to be held by you while I sleep and certainly not just tonight" she finished.

Looking into each other's eyes, they were nearly lost to the world and nothing else mattered at that moment. Harry and Hermione instinctively moved forward to meet in a very sweet and very satisfying first kiss. The true love's first kiss was needed to initiate the intimate sharing of one's soul with their perfect mate or 'other half' but that was nowhere enough to fulfill the conditions to strengthen and stabilize the bond, but it was still a welcome first step for Harry and Hermione. They would need the absolute trust and reliance on the other in the days to come and successfully face the trials ahead but for tonight, the two teens were in bliss.

The Creator decided to give them a subtle nudge to help his two greatest creations and on the way help the world in general too. The gentle kiss turned into a full blown snog full of passion and desire but the two teens were more level headed than any others at their age and so pulled back before their actions led to something that would have led to regret.

Breathing heavily they supported each other and after getting their breath back after a few minutes, Harry took his best friend's hands into his own, "Hermione…" he began with trepidation, "I… I do not want something that is just for a few kicks, I want something that lasts for a lifetime. Do you think that we have a chance for that?"

Tears sprang into the cinnamon eyes unbidden but Hermione also had a beautiful smile on her face, "I would like to think that we have more than a chance for that Harry."

"Brilliant!" Harry enthused almost giddy with happiness and leaned in to steal a quick kiss before taking hold of Hermione's hand. In his haste to reach the third year Gryffindor boys' dorm, nearly dragged her up the stairs and Hermione could not help but laugh at his antics; the fact that her fears of losing the one boy whose friendship was worth more to her than all the money in the world were unfounded, also added to her happiness.

The dormitory was nearly deserted except for Ron who was snoring with abandon and Hermione threw a withering glare at the redhead. She felt as if a heavy burden was lifted now that she did not need to worry about pleasing the boy anymore now; she has her prince charming with her. With a shy smile Hermione joined Harry on the bed and after putting up the limited number of privacy charms that they knew, they snuggled under the warm covers.

Harry and Hermione tried to relax but since they were in their everyday clothes, they were too uncomfortable to fall asleep. The closeness and the feeling of warmth that was permeating their whole being was not enough to give them the rest they needed. A few minutes of fidgeting later, Hermione huffed in frustration and sat up alarming Harry, "Please stay!" he begged.

Hermione softened her gaze and turned to Harry, she leaned forward to kiss him fleetingly, "I am not going anywhere Harry…" she hesitated momentarily while her cheeks began to turn red in embarrassment. Hermione ducked her head avoiding Harry's gaze but soldiered on, "These clothes are very uncomfortable and I generally sleep in my pyjamas. Added to that my underwear is making me uncomfortable to fall asleep."

Harry also felt his cheeks heating up but nodded his head nevertheless, "Yeah! I understand…" and then caught Hermione's eye before stuttering ahead, "… I am used to sleeping in my boxer shorts only…"

Hermione's eyes widened in surprise, not that he would sleep near naked but that Harry was admitting it to her all the while the thought of cuddling in such a state almost made her swoon. Even though the thought of undressing in front of a boy/ girl would not have been so easily accepted by either of them, Harry and Hermione could not deny the urge to cuddle together that night and if they had to do that without clothes on, then they were even prepared to do so. If they thought that there was an unnatural compulsion to do so, they never spoke out loud about it. Harry locked eyes with his best friend and now girlfriend and an unspoken agreement was reached. In no time, and without getting out of the bed, Harry was dressed only in his shorts, maybe throwing an unwitting challenge to Hermione.

Hermione steadied her racing heart and with her legs extended before her started to reach under her skirt. Harry gulped hard and though he was very much tempted to follow her hands he managed to jerk his head back up to lock eyes with her. That consideration and the obvious nervousness in Harry's demeanour brought a grin to Hermione despite her own heart thudding in her ribcage. With a mischievous smile, she took her time to slowly pull her knickers down her legs which were now stretched out before her and were almost on Harry's lap. The tension in the air brought goosebumps to them both and the air felt forcing them to take deep breaths to steady their racing hearts. Harry's resolve lasted only as long as Hermione's hands were hidden under her skirt and as soon as he could see the garment, his eyes followed the final journey.

It was a plain white cotton pair with some floral pattern all over it, the simplicity of which Harry could easily equate with the wonderful girl in front of him, and it actually allowed him to smile. He tentatively reached out and took the pair out of Hermione's reluctant but still relenting hands while eliciting a blushing admonition. "Harry!" she squeaked.

"Typical Hermione" he murmured more to himself, his eyes transfixed on the knickers in his hands but his thoughts years ahead. A time when he could be the one removing them and doing things with Hermione that would give both of them ultimate pleasure. The emotions that flittered on his face sent the blush on Hermione's face to never seen heights and increased the sense of belonging in Hermione. Her thoughts nearly matched those of her boyfriend and brought forth such calmness to her senses that she did not question her actions. Before she could react though, Harry folded the garment in his hands and tucked his underneath his pillow. Hermione couldn't decide if she was angry, flattered, or plain surprised and so settled to give him a bashful smile instead. She was not going to let it go that easily though and giving a playful growl to cover her mortification, which strangely brought a thrill to her, and leaped onto Harry in an attempt to grab her underwear back; her heart was not in it though and so Harry was easily able to defend his prize from her.

Hermione was suddenly aware of the position she was in; she dearly wanted to share the night with Harry but in her pleasant absentmindedness, she forgot about the promise she made to professor McGonagall. Harry was perceptive enough to understand why Hermione was suddenly apprehensive and so giving her a gentle smile, reached forward to tug the time-turner that was hidden underneath her blouse, out of its confinement. Hermione gasped but before she could even try to stammer out an explanation, both due to the guilt of hiding it from her best friend this long and also mindful of her promise, Harry silenced her with a heartfelt kiss, "I may not be as smart as you Hermione, but even I can see that you are in two classes at the same time. After a bit of research I was able to guess about this…" seeing that Hermione was fidgeting even after his explanation, he gave her a way out, "… am I to believe that professor McGonagall wanted you to keep this a secret even from Ron and me?"

With a sigh of relief Hermione acknowledged that it indeed was the case and chuckled heartily when Harry assured that Ron was as clueless as ever. In short order Hermione got out of her long sleeved shirt and bra; now that she took the step of trusting Harry, she found it easy to sit before him half naked and surprisingly there was not even a hint of fear or hesitation. The fact that Harry was not leering at her or worse take undue advantage of her or put off seeing her smaller than average assets also probably helped ease her mind; she trusted him with her life but now she was sure that she could trust him with her virtue too. Hermione felt as if her magic was somehow calling out to her to take the final step that would make her 'One' with Harry. She was not sure if she could or should do that at this age and hopefully Harry would agree too but if it was needed she was ready to give her virtue to him too.

Harry was also surprised at the ease with which Hermione seemed to face him in only her skirt and without a stitch covering her torso while he was only in his boxer shorts and the complete lack of any awkwardness between them. He would never disrobe so openly in the dorm due to his own insecurities regarding his undernourished body but here, he was baring himself to Hermione, albeit it was only his torso but still. Harry gave her a frank look to take her in without appearing to be vulgar and he found his breath catching at the sheer beauty of his bushy haired friend. He always knew that she had a wonderful personality, "I was wrong before Hermione, you are not just pretty, you are beautiful" he whispered to her with all the tenderness he could.

Hermione smiled at him but she suspected that it was only out of politeness at her state of undress that Harry said that and probably to lessen her embarrassment too. She never considered herself pretty let alone anything beautiful. She was aware of the subtle glances of most of the boys in her year were used to giving the girls who were openly acknowledged to be pretty like Parvati, Lavender, or even the dark skinned Katie, but more importantly ignore her completely. "Harry, I know that I am not…" she began but was silenced by Harry's finger on her lips.

Harry gave her a bright smile, "You are not allowed to depreciate yourself. You are only allowed to say, 'Thank You for the compliment Harry' or better yet, 'I know I am beautiful and I am proud of it'."

Hermione took a deep steadying breath as she realized something; Harry never made her feel inferior. "Thank you Harry" she accepted the praise graciously. Harry handed her the discarded shirt but now that she was strangely comfortable before him, she felt that wearing the shirt was superfluous, so she calmly folded it and placed it beside the pillow along with Harry's and her remaining clothes.

"I suppose you want this too?" she asked fingering the plain white bra. Harry took it without batting an eye and folding it, placed it with her knickers under his pillow.

"This is the best present that I have had till date" Harry waggled his eyebrows with a cheeky grin causing a massive blush to erupt on Hermione's face. "Next Christmas I will collect a different set from you, one that I will take off you myself" he asked a bit hopefully.

Hermione bit her lower lip and in a hesitant tone told him, "Maybe I will not be wearing any skirt then…"

Harry's eyes widened momentarily but recovered quickly, "Yeah! Probably you would also take my shorts off me…" he added hesitantly.

To anyone else their talk might have seemed to be one concentrated on sex but to Harry and Hermione, it was a commitment to stay together for as long as they could. There were no other words spoken as they understood what the other was offering. Hermione snuggled into Harry and settled for the night with her head resting in the crook of his neck. Harry tightened his arms around the wonderful girl he was now sure would be there with him till the end, the contact between their bare chests sending a feeling of pure ecstasy in him. Harry felt as if his magic was calling to Hermione and was vaguely aware of a feeling of contentment that was not completely his; he suspected that it was coming from Hermione, but how was that possible?

While his champions were content, the creator cursed himself, 'why did he have had to make humans with strong moral values?' he silently fumed. On top of that he made Harry Potter to be the epitome of a moral compass and when he needed them to finalize their bond, Harry and Hermione were content at least for now, just to share their love and affection without physical intimacy. Thankfully there was still time for the two to really take their relationship up a notch… 'Hmm maybe he could look into other ways for them to solidify their bond and also remove the piece of Voldemort's soul from Harry Potter at the same time' he thought. The creator left the two to attend to his duties as the creator; he schedule was almost always full and he only had rare chances when he could focus on the future's hope. He was committed to the promise he made himself and so was determined to oversee the lives of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, at least until they bond. The creator sighed to himself; the new twist meant that he had a lot of research to do.

Cradling each other, Harry and Hermione had no care in the world, nothing to stop them and since it was the holidays they need not wake up early. They were in heaven even on earth and as the clock struck the midnight hour, they could say without a doubt that holding their best friend while sleeping was the best Christmas present ever, at least until something else came that would top this experience. 'Probably the next Christmas' Harry thought. All those thoughts and an intense desire to doing more with Hermione began a throbbing in his nether region that was sure to be noticed by her; Harry was mortified and also a little apprehensive, lest he scare his girlfriend away but before he could do anything Hermione voiced her deepest concern, "Harry, what is this between us?"

He could detect the worry in her voice and so tried to placate her, "Hermione, you are my best friend…" but before he could go any further, he was interrupted by Hermione, "… you mean we are just best friends and what is this that we are doing now? Friends with benefits?" she asked with hurt in her voice. She tried to move away but Harry simply held her to his chest.

Harry sighed; he was sure that Hermione's insecurities would not allow her to think that he would be willing for a deeper commitment with her. He gently began rubbing circles on her back in an attempt to calm her, "… you will always be my best friend Hermione, and I want this to mean something for us not just an attempt to satiate our urges. I want this for my whole life."

Hermione nearly squealed in delight. She planted a firm kiss on his lips and went back to hug him tight; the emotions that were coursing through him and the delighted reaction from Hermione prompted Harry to verbalize his commitment, "Hermione, I want you in my life forever. I want to be one with you. There should not me a 'you' and a 'me' but only 'us'. When the time is right, will you marry me?"

He was startled by the tears that were threatening to fall from Hermione's eyes but the brilliant smile calmed him down. Hermione leaned forward to kiss him and unseen by them both a soft golden glow that encompassed them for a few seconds before dissipating. There was a subtle increase in their perceptiveness of each other's emotions but since Harry and Hermione were able to do that for a long time, neither of them was even aware of the change. "I would be delighted to Harry; it would be my dream come true" Hermione answered him with her eyes sparkling with the love she had for her raven haired best friend.

Resting her head on his chest, she worried her lower lip, "Are you sure that it would be alright to have a muggleborn as the lady of the Ancient and Noble house of Potter? … and for the second time in a row…"

Harry was taken aback, "Lady? What Ancient and Noble House? What do you mean?"

Hermione was speechless; she had only one thought, 'Oh Boy!'

_**Shared, Power He-Knows-Not**_

The day after Christmas was very quiet in the castle that was home for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Most of the students that opted to stay in the castle for the holidays were still abed but one witch with greying hair neatly tied up in a bun was stalking thorough the deserted hallways intent on reaching the headmaster's office. Minerva McGonagall was on a mission; she was furious after listening to Harry's lament the night before and she wanted answers.

"Headmaster" she greeted the aged wizard and the curt tone could not help but elicit a surprise in the generally unfazed man. Albus Dumbledore never felt as a schoolboy before even when he was a schoolboy but his deputy was a formidable woman and was now threatening to bring forth all the emotions in an errant student.

"Minerva" he greeted her with apparent joviality trying to inject some merriment and ease her out of her funk but did nothing to calm his nerves.

The transfiguration professor would have begun tapping her foot in impatience waiting for the headmaster to realize the seriousness of the situation, if she was in the habit of doing so. As soon as she was certain that the headmaster was focused on her, she began her assault, "What were you thinking Albus! I told you, … I told you that Lily's sister was not the right one to look after little Harry…" and so a deluge started which covered the emotional abuse, the sincere lack of confidence in himself, the fear of rejection in the young teen and so forth.

To his credit, Dumbledore took great pains to really understand the true horrors that Harry underwent before coming to Hogwarts and frankly that jolted him. He always tried to convince himself that what he did was right and in a sense he was, but now that he was given an account of his misdemeanours with regards to the same teen, the headmaster was shaken as he was never before. Even after McGonagall finished berating her boss, Dumbledore did not make an attempt to justify his actions or even attempt a reply but was left lost in thought and in his own private chastisement. The only clue that it indeed was a reprimand was the ugly scowl adorning his usually placid face.

At length he stirred himself to ask, "Minerva what brought this about?"

McGonagall was aware of her own mistakes regarding the placement of baby Harry and so took her anger over herself and also over Dumbledore's actions on the same person. Her face softened though after seeing the look of frank regret on his face and with her anger evaporating with her tirade, McGonagall answered with more civility than she felt as soon as she entered the office. Sitting heavily in the chair on the other side of the table, she removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes tiredly, "His fear of losing Ms. Granger as a friend…" she replied. She took great pains to relate the interaction between the two teens she witnessed with particular attention to the emotional turmoil both of them felt. The fear in Harry's eyes when he was apologizing to Miss Granger nearly brought tears to the stoic professor's eyes and the sheer vulnerability made her question all the reasons that were given by Dumbledore for Harry's placement.

Dumbledore was really confused how that was such a big thing, yes losing a friend was not a good thing at all, but Harry did have other friends and he never saw anything other than friendship between the two. Now why was his deputy insinuating that the loss of Miss Granger would be a very big set back? "… and this would have been worrisome?" he asked dreading the reply but still curious at the same time.

McGonagall gave him a stern glare preempting the reaction of the headmaster, "Mr. Potter and Miss Granger are beginning to form a bond the like of which has not been seen in many years."

The transfiguration professor would not have missed her assessment by much as the headmaster nearly descended into panic at the thought of Harry Potter being emancipated by virtue of a soul bond which was considered to be more powerful than even a marriage bond. His first though was to forcefully separate the two teens and maybe even encourage the distance between them that McGonagall alluded to. Finally, common sense prevailed as the raw emotion that the deputy headmistress showed while describing the turmoil of young Harry with just the thought of losing a best friend and now that they would probably have acknowledged their feelings towards each other, any attempt to separate them might be harmful to their very lives.

Fighting off the urge to meddle, Dumbledore sank heavily into his own armchair while rubbing his eyes in an effort to dislodge the image of an angry Lily Potter if she was privy to his internal musings. Regaining his composure the headmaster stared at his deputy for a long time before deciding to dispense with his secrets and also for the first time making a marked change from his usual desire to keep things close to his chest. "As soon as Lord Voldemort was defeated, the very night in fact, Mr. Malfoy made a play to take guardianship of young Harry." That statement was met with an audible gasp from the usually unflappable professor and so giving her a wan smile, the headmaster continued, "His plea of being under the imperius curse was easily accepted by most of the elite purebloods in the wizengamot and even though Barty Crouch Sr. was not willing to let any death eaters go scot free, even he knew that for him to be the Minister of Magic, he needed their support. He was willing to allow the guardianship on the pretense that the Malfoys were distant relations to the Potters through the Blacks. The very first step to that was to seal the Potters' wills on the pretense of Sirius Black, the obvious main beneficiary to be a death eater. I am sure that if the will was made public, Mr. Black as the babe's magical godfather would have been released instantly…"

"Mr. Black undertook a magically binding oath?" McGonagall questioned incredulously.

Dumbledore sighed heavily, it certainly looked like the years have been catching up to him, "Yes, Mr. Black could in no way harm young Mr. Potter than killing himself. I tried to protest that vehemently but since the ceremony was only attended by a very few close friends due to secrecy issues, no one was willing to believe me. With the other witnesses either incapacitated or some like Mr. Lupin sneered at, I was silenced very quickly."

McGonagall lost every last bit of her anger and resentment at the regret that was coursing through the aged wizard, she stood from her place on the other side of the desk and walked to stand with her hand on the shoulder of the man. Her respect for Dumbledore reached never before heights in that instant. "Uncle, do you not trust me to share your burdens? You should be willing to let me and others you trust to help you…"

"Uncle!" Dumbledore started, the genuine affection in her tone brought a few ears to his eyes, "… It has been a very long time since I've heard that."

McGonagall smiled at her uncle affectionately, "You _are_ my Grand Uncle after all" but she lost her joviality quickly and turned her stern gaze on him reminding him of her earlier admonishment.

Dumbledore patted his eyes from under his glasses to wipe away the accumulating moisture before continuing his tale, "you can imagine my wariness to leave the boy who defeated the worst kind of wizard with his own follower, unfortunately Crouch and his toady Fudge were determined to please Malfoy and with the wills sealed, I took the decision to keep young Harry away from the wizarding world." He sighed when the gaze of his niece did not soften yet and so steeled his nerves and laid his cards on the table, "It was not a question of trust, Minerva child, but one of preservation. I myself was on thin ice and would probably have been stripped off my power if not for Crouch's inglorious exit from the position of power. My desire was to keep you all away from the same fate and to keep your reputations intact."

Dumbledore gazed softly at the transfiguration professor; his own reticence had prompted a distant relationship with his grandniece even though he would see her on a daily basis. He did not really appreciate her near constant support and was now regretting his own unwillingness to drop his aloofness. That began a change in him and he was now convinced that it was better for Harry if his situation was made known to him so that he would be better prepared to face the future, rather than keeping him closeted. With that decision made, he turned to his deputy with a smile full of gratitude, "Thank you my dear, I believe that I need to talk to Mr. Potter and get him to understand the role he has to…" he trailed off briefly and with a faraway look in his eyes amended himself, "… _may_ have to play in the defeat of Lord Voldemort and also his role in society. After the end of the term I might accompany him to Gringotts so that he could learn about his inheritance and if possible persuade the Goblins to at least open his parents' wills; if there is any evidence that could free Mr. Black all the better."

McGonagall nodded her head with approval at the change in Dumbledore's thinking. The man was wont to arrange the lives of others but finally had realized that his interference was actually proving detrimental. She however, had a question though, "What about letting Mr. Potter and Miss Granger know about the chances of their bonding? Should we let them know and risk an adverse reaction or, I am afraid to say this, a much more positive reaction which might lead them to do something that they might regret later."

Dumbledore chuckled at the obvious discomfort the images that might have inadvertently encroached the thoughts of his deputy but sobered very quickly, "I believe that it would be a very good idea to caution them as soon as possible, Minerva. In this case nothing good can come out of keeping it a secret."

When his grandniece looked at him with wide eyes he decided to impress the necessity of letting two hormonal teenagers know what could result if they were not restrained in their actions, "If they take the final steps to complete their bond before their majority, then they would be considered to be husband and wife in the eyes of magic as well as law. More to the point, the main outcome of such a binding is to ensure the propagation of the family and so any and all contraceptive measures will fail and the first time that they would make love would lead to conception…"

Though it was a very alarming thought, it could not stop the fierce blush that coloured the cheeks of the transfiguration professor. Dumbledore thanked the gods for the opportunity for levity and quipped, "Though you and I are very much unaware, I was told by your grandfather the great pleasure such an act would incite. So I would like you to talk to them giving them the good news but at the same time preach restraint."

McGonagall was finally able to get her emotions under control understanding the gravity of the situation Harry and Hermione might find themselves in if they were uninformed of all the consequences and promised to keep an eye on them. "If you have any material regarding such bonding, I think they would appreciate it" she voiced.

The headmaster agreed instantly and promised to look through his own enormous collection of books and let the two teens borrow any books that might like about the topic. After sitting for a few minutes in companionable silence, Dumbledore voiced his thoughts, "I think that I will pass on the Dumbledore family name to any children that Harry and Miss Granger may have as a result of their union, after talking to my brother of course."

McGonagall readily agreed to that thought and supported it too, "I am sure that grandpa would not object to that and I think it would do good to have both Dumbledore and McGonagall family names to continue unlike those of the four founders."

As a discussion of a serious nature was going on between the two senior most members of the staff at Hogwarts, Harry and Hermione were greeting each other with a tender kiss in the Gryffindor common room before walking down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Even though the two of them continued talking late into the night, they were well rested and Harry proclaimed it to be the best night's sleep he had in a very long time. Hermione woke up with a smile on her face much before Ron and since it was a holiday it was not a very difficult thing to accomplish. With a leisurely and tender wakeup call that involved a lot of kisses and much giggling, she left the boys' dorm to get ready for the day.

Harry was waiting to meet Hermione in the common room and greeted her with much subdued enthusiasm which immediately alerted her that Harry had already shared the news with Ron.

"What was his reaction Harry?" she asked tentatively.

Harry was still trying to process the information revealed in his talk with Ron and he could honestly admit that he was bewildered, "He was actually confused…"

"Huh?" Hermione was equally confused.

"Yeah" he shrugged, "He was confused as to why I was interested in spending time with you and also on my studies. Even though I tried to explain, he was not able to understand that what I want with you would be for a lifetime and not a passing fancy."

Hermione was a little affronted at that; she was still fuming over the broomstick incident and calling her a passing fancy rankled her. Harry was not done yet though, "What worried me was the intense look he had in his eyes when he proclaimed that Ginny was convinced that she would be my wife…"

His girlfriend's eyes turned into saucers while her entire face began turning red with an impending explosion. Harry thankfully knew the signs very well and so diverted her with a well-timed barb at their mutual friend, "I think he is still in the 'girls are icky' phase" he joked.

Hermione always thought that their redheaded friend had the emotional range of a teaspoon and Harry's commented served to cement that opinion and so with a small smile tugging the corners of her mouth ventured, "… and how about you?"

Harry stole a kiss and grinned, "I was kicked out of that phase as soon as my eyes found a cute bushy haired bookworm walking into my compartment on the Hogwarts express."

The gloomy thoughts of thick friends and a girl determined to be married to the 'Boy-Who-Lived' were temporarily forgotten in the new found bliss as Harry and Hermione started looking for breakfast, hand in hand.

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A/N: I know that this is like a filler but it had to be done before getting straight into the main theme of the story. Thanks for the enormous response to this FanFiction.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I apologize for the delay in getting this chapter out. My new position as a senior scientist is taking away most of my free time even on the weekend. I do intend to finish all my stories and so plead with you for patience. I thank each and every one who not only took the time to read this fiction but also graciously left me glowing reviews.**

**Declaration: ****I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.**

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**One-ness**

**Chapter 3**

The arrival of March brought sunshine with it and some cheer to the inhabitants of the perpetually cold castle. The bright spring weather made frolicking on the grounds easier and no one tool more advantage of that than Harry and Hermione. The Gryffindor common room more often than not became unbearable to them for having a relaxing time, and this was mainly due to the news of their relationship becoming common knowledge. Most of the members of the house were indifferent to them, as it was just a common occurrence, even if it was between Harry Potter, 'The Boy-Who-Lived' and Hermione Granger, the brightest witch of her age. No, Harry and Hermione's relationship was accepted without much fuss or even interest but the reason for their unease in the common room was due to two people who they considered dear friends, family even.

"I really do not understand how you can be sure that what you are having now is going to last a life time? How do you know?" Ron was really not reconciled to being a tag along to a couple.

Harry heaved a great sigh of impatience and looked at Hermione who sported an irritated look; she was not as ready to accept Ron back as a friend after the row they had at Christmas. Even Harry was not so welcoming to his first friend but at the same time was not willing to side line him completely. His priorities did change significantly though and that was what was offensive to Ron. Harry no longer cared to goof off but whatever extra time he had was spent in revising the day's lessons or learning Arithmancy and Ancient Runes with Hermione. They were tempted to use the time turner for this, but Hermione was adamant on not upsetting their head of house, in fact their honest discussion on its use led to a drastic reduction in the total number of hours that Hermione herself used it for he studies and consequently more cuddling time for the two teenagers.

Hermione refused to answer and so Harry tried, "Ron, we, that is Hermione and I have a very deep understanding of each other. We know that we respect each other and that is a very good foundation to our liking. It can only grow into love" he added reasonably.

Ron barely managed to contain his scorn, "… but you do not argue with her, you do not show any strong emotion with her like I do. Even Ginny says that _me_ and Hermione argue like old married couples, just like my mum and dad."

Hermione was so angry that she did not even try to correct Ron's grammatical mistakes like she was wont to. Even then she was barely restraining herself not to explode and cause a scene on the grounds in view of almost everyone, students and staff alike. "Ron!" she nearly growled the name out, "… whoever told you that arguments are a basis for strong and healthy relationship was not having the best intentions…"

She was going to continue but was rudely interrupted by the redhead, "…but my Mum almost always shouts at my Dad and you always shout at me." His voice was almost petulant but to Harry and Hermione the revelation was a shock. Ron's inadvertent words gave them a new understanding of why Mr. Weasley looked like a hen pecked husband who was always retreating to a shed full of inconsequential trinkets. It was because he was indeed a hen pecked husband.

Hermione was looking aghast at the thought of a household where there was no trust or open dialogue to resolve any differences but only confrontation. She had a prime example of how a loving relationship works in that of her own parents and always desired such a relationship. Now, faced with someone who was considering her as a life partner based just on the images of his parents arguing over minutiae was suddenly disconcerting to her sensibilities. She could not just come out and say that Ron's parents were not setting a good example and so contented herself with, "Ron, yes, a lot of married couples do bicker, but I do not bicker with you, I argue with you and that too over something that I know you were in the wrong. I have this habit of correcting people because I cannot resist; I do not know how your parents work but when I argue with you I really have some problem."

"… But … but what about Ginny? She was always told that she would marry Harry when he grew up. She is dreaming of her wedding since she was a little girl" Ron whined, "… if Ginny gets Harry, then I can get you…"

"What do you mean get?" Harry bristled. "This is not a competition or something; I am with Hermione and will continue to do so. We will get married someday and there is nothing anyone else can do…"

Hermione was also livid, "How can your Mum and Ginny decide that Harry is meant for Ginny? They did not even meet him. If you did not notice, Ginny never talks to Harry, she simply lets out a squeak and either hides her face or runs away…"

Ron was really unable to wrap his mind that the way his parents interacted was not really healthy or that his mother was really overbearing. He refused to believe that his mother was merely goading Ginny into marriage with essentially an unknown factor, which Harry was at that time. Now that Harry really did turn out to be a very good guy, Ginny's own infatuation grew; Ron was always reminded that Harry was to wed Ginny and for that he needed to get Hermione for himself. He was always uncomfortable in the presence of the intelligent girl and so his arguments with her were more often heated than not. He always believed that the way Hermione argued with him was the way that his mother argued with his father and so to him the natural conclusion was that he would end up with Hermione. Now that he was told in no uncertain terms that Hermione argued with him in anger and not in love, Ron was lost. He needed time to understand, he wanted to understand and when Harry and Hermione told him about their meeting with Professor McGonagall, Ron invited himself for that.

The trio reached the office of the deputy headmistress and after they were bid to enter, were surprised to find the Defense Against Dark Arts professor Remus Lupin seated on the other side of professor McGonagall's desk.

"Ah! Har…" professor McGonagall began but seeing the presence of Ron, she shifted to a more formal address, "Mr. Potter and Miss Granger have a personal meeting with me Mr. Weasley. I do not think that your presence would be comfortable to them."

Ron's ears started to turn red, a clear indication of his embarrassment both at being admonished but also at the reason why he interjected himself into the meeting. Harry took pity on his friend who was essentially good but had certain ingrained habits and thoughts which need not always matched that of what was good; he had no intention of defending him but at the same time did not want a confrontation. Clearing his throat and shooting Hermione a warning glance answered their head of house, "We accepted Ron's need to be present for this meeting so that he may actually understand the relationship that I have with Hermione." Giving her a wry smile, he finished, "… he still has the impression that a boy and a girl could not have a deeper understanding than mere friendship and one that did not necessarily end in arguments."

The usually stern professor's lips thinned further at the implication that the youngest male Weasley was still a child even in his thirteen year old body. She could now really understand the gulf between him and the couple next to him just based on their emotional maturity and so was about to accede to the request. Before she could invite them to sit though, they were all distracted by a streaking orange blur launching himself at Ron.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione shouted, shocked at the blatant disregard for respect in front of their head of house. She knew that her half-kneazle was well-behaved and the thought of Crookshanks being thrown out of her dorm by professor McGonagall just because of his baser instincts to attack a rat was distressing.

The rat in Ron's pocket took matters into his own hands and immediately jumped onto the professor's desk with an intention to make his escape from the determined half-kneazle and to freedom through the partly open door. Before anyone else could react though, either in defense of the rat or to restrain the clearly irritated Crookshanks, professor Lupin growled deep in his throat which stilled even the fleeing rat. Only one word, "Wormtail!" came out of his mouth but that word was full of contempt and barely restrained fury.

That cry more than anything else galvanized the frozen rat to make a renewed attempt to freedom but the DADA professor was up to the task and quickly fired off a spell to close and lock the door. Looking back at the window, the rat addressed to as Wormtail saw that it was being zealously guarded by an orange furball. With no alternative but to take proactive action if he was to live, Wormtail galvanized into action, and the events that followed were too fast to be able to discern properly with the naked eye.

Harry was standing in the middle of the small room with Hermione and Ron flanking him. He was rendered a mute and frozen spectator as events began transpiring at a rapid pace, too difficult to follow. He could not prevent the startled shout that came out of him when he saw Ron's rat transforming before his very eyes into a stooped man with his head nearly devoid of hair. Most astonishing was that even before the transformation into human was complete, the man brandished a hidden wand and shot a '_reducto_' curse straight at him before turning swiftly and blasting the locked door away.

Both professors McGonagall and Lupin could only watch in horror as the curse streaked towards Harry and his friends. Since Wormtail positioned himself on the other side of the three students, the two professors could do nothing lest their own curses hit the three teens. While Ron was rooted to the floor in shock, Harry came out of his stupor and moved due to his sharp reflexes that were honed by quidditch. He could not move to his side as he was nearly pinned in place by his friends but at the same time he was also reluctant to move towards Hermione, for fear of drawing any further curses towards her. Harry did the most sensible thing he could and merely dropped to the ground, but unfortunately for him, Hermione also sensed the danger that he was in and moved to stand in front of him instinctively offering herself as a shield.

With a strangled shout of, "Hermione!" Harry tried to drag her down but he only managed to grab her almost at the same instant as the curse impacted her, right in the middle of her chest. The momentum of his falling down was enough to bring her into his embrace as soon as he hit the floor.

The danger posed to Hermione was enough to divert the attention of the occupants of the room and gave the time for Wormtail to transform back into his animagus form and race out of the splintered door. Professors McGonagall and Lupin along with Ron heaved a sigh of relief when they saw that both Harry and Hermione were able to move even though they were obviously in pain but before they could further ascertain themselves of their escape from the near lethal curse, a high pitched scream erupted from both the teens locked in embrace, followed immediately by a shock wave. There was an accompanying 'phut' which sounded like that of a backfiring car only subdued and a spray of fine grey particles emanated out from in between their bodies.

The watchers could only stare in riveted in horror as the mist of fine grey particles surrounded the two teens and began settling over them and cover them. Slowly but surely the mist dissipated but not due to its being removed away from their bodies, rather due to the fact that it was slowly getting imbued into Harry and Hermione.

As soon as all the particles, which only professor McGonagall realized with dismay as being dust from the time turner loaned to Hermione, vanished into the now unconscious teens still locked in embrace, the professor rushed forward casting the few diagnostic charms that she knew. Meanwhile, professor Lupin shot off a messenger patronus to both the matron of the hospital wing as well as the headmaster calling them to the office they were in.

Exhausting the repertoire of diagnostic spells she knew, professor McGonagall rose to her feet unsteadily and let out the breath she was holding in. Wiping her brow tiredly she remarked to the room in general, "Well, they are both alive and as much as I can see, in good health. The only thing I could detect of worry was that their magic is severely drained and that's why I think they are unconscious."

As soon as the words left her mouth, they were disturbed by the flaring of the floo connection in the office and Madam Pomfrey exited the floo closely followed by professor Dumbledore. Seeing the two teens lying on the ground, the healer let out a gasp and began moving towards them only to stop mid-stride as Harry's entire body started to glow golden and it began to slowly enter into Hermione's body below him. The glow was diffuse and covered their entire bodies almost as if they were being embraced by the light. However, not long after that, the watchers were shocked when an ugly purple fog like substance began to issue from Harry's scar and began to overwhelm the golden glow from Harry and Hermione.

Everyone turned to Madam Pomfrey for an explanation but it was the headmaster who urged Harry in a strangled voice, "Come on My Boy! Fight it; do not let it overwhelm you. You have to fight it; do not put Miss Granger and yourself in danger."

Even though Harry was not in any state to hear the pleas of the headmaster, there was a marked change in the air that was surrounding the two teens. It felt as if the golden glow, that was all good and giving off a feeling of contentment, began a desperate fight with the purple fog that was threatening to take over Harry's free will; and it seemed as if the blackness was winning.

Before they could gather their wits even to understand what was happening, Hermione moved as if she was a marionette in her unconscious state and pressed her head firmly against Harry's chest while both of her hands cupped his cheeks as if to remind him of her presence by his side. The impetus offered by his love was enough to rejuvenate Harry's subconscious and his will to fight for his life and soul. The golden glow surrounding them pulsed with renewed energy and this caused a shrill scream of terror from the purple fog that began to vaguely take the shape of a distorted human head. The expression of horror on the five watchers turned to relief when the purple fog finally dissipated into thin air under the onslaught of the golden glow which settled on both Harry and Hermione evenly like a warm blanket. Even though it was just a few minutes for the events to come to an end, the emotions of the watchers were wrung out and even they felt tired after the adrenaline high.

Madam Pomfrey tried to scan their vital signs but she could not get any readings from them. "I guess we have to wait for some time till their magical cores recharge and settle down to get any information from them. For now they are unconscious but very much alive." Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Lupin breathed a sigh of relief at the declaration but Ron was thoroughly shaken by the experience; he realized that Harry and Hermione nearly lost their lives and even though he did not know the identity of the man who was living as his pet rat Scabbers, Ron was sure that he could only be a death eater. That served as a very big wake up call to him; he resolved to re-examine everything that had happened after the rat started to live in their home as a pet first with Percy and then with him. He had to sort out his priorities to help Harry and Hermione with this new trouble in their lives, for help them he would. First he had to write a letter to his father explaining in detail the events that happened and to ask for his advice about the best way to go about apologizing for his rude behaviour to his best friends.

Professor Lupin took it upon himself to escort Ron to the Gryffindor tower before combing the castle for the escaped rat animagus with Hermione's faithful Crookshanks, while McGonagall accompanied Madam Pomfrey in shifting Harry and Hermione to the hospital wing. This gave Dumbledore the time to gather his wits and understand what the purple fog that came out of Harry's famous scar meant.

Standing by the window in the office of the transfiguration professor, with his hands clasped behind his back, headmaster Dumbledore acknowledged to be the greatest wizard after Merlin, did not feel so great at the moment. He was in fact afraid, afraid for the lives of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger whose lives if not before were now inexplicably joined together. Dumbledore recognized that the golden glow that emanated from the two teens signified the formation of a soul bond. That was a happy event as far as Dumbledore was concerned but what was disconcerting was the accidental involvement of dust from a time turner. McGonagall's explanation was explicit and even though Harry and Hermione were still locked in embrace and thus making an examination of the time turner impossible, he had no doubts about the origin of the fine grey mist. Never in his one hundred and twenty years, did Dumbledore hear anything about such an event as that which occurred just a few minutes ago. As far as he could recollect, there was nothing about any witch or wizard coming in contact with such a powerful magical object and that in itself was worrying. Yes, Dumbledore was scared, scared for the lives of the wizard who could take his place someday as the most powerful wizard after Merlin and for the witch who was already known as the one to beat even Rowena Ravenclaw in intelligence.

Dumbledore did not understand what caused the shock wave that nearly toppled the entire castle but he hoped fervently that it did not cause any lasting damage to the two teens. That would add another unknown factor to the presence of Time Dust in their bodies. The tumultuous thoughts threatened to cause a blinding headache in the venerable wizard but he was nowhere near reaching a conclusion as to what might have happened and what could be the repercussions to the two teens.

It definitely was a good thing that the piece of Voldemort's soul that was trapped inside Harry was removed somehow but at the same time it meant that Dumbledore, in good conscience, could not force Harry to confront the dark lord. The prophecy foretold that Harry was the one who could finally vanquish Voldemort and the presence of a soul piece meant that the confrontation was inevitable, but now Harry was free from the taint. Dumbledore was the one with a foot in the grave and the one with battle experience, not Harry who did not even begin to enjoy his life. Dumbledore saw enough of grief in his very long life and he could not push the burden of taking a life onto the shoulders of the young man. He could not even imagine what would happen if Harry lost his life, that alternative was unacceptable to the headmaster.

Finally, Dumbledore convinced himself that he should feel a sense of relief that the horcrux within Harry was removed with the least bit of difficulty and that Harry would not have to face Lord Voldemort. With that decision made, he decided to head to the Granger's house in Crawley and escort them to the hospital wing so that they could be with their daughter. However, little did he know that things were only going to get ugly as soon as he would come back with them.

_**Shared, Power He-Knows-Not**_

Daniel Granger was still in shock; it was a little more than two days now since he and his wife were brought to the Hogwarts hospital wing, two days that his daughter was in a state of coma, locked in embrace with her best friend Harry Potter. He knew that they raised their daughter to be a very conscientious girl and because of that she was almost always alone, being a smart girl who loved reading more than playing with dolls also increased her distance from other girls of her age, be it her own cousins or school mates. Even though they had their reservations about her being a witch, their acceptance about the magical world truly brought her out of her own self-imposed shell of being an introvert and for the first time her happiness was due not only to learning something new but also for finding friends who hopefully liked her and not her homework helping ability.

Harry Potter! That was the name that brought happiness to Dan Granger, for the simple reason that the boy sensed the true worth of his daughter and liked her for who she was. It was not all roses though as the magical world was full of its share of pointed remarks and hurtful bigotry along with magnified dangers due to magic. While Hermione had her share of insults, not only from those who disliked her but also from some who she called friends, her letters were full of one name that was mentioned always with affection and sometimes gratitude for making her life happy. Harry Potter threw himself in danger to save his little girl and bore the brunt of the insults directed at him for befriending Hermione but steadfastly remained at her side. If this did not endear the young man to him, then the news of his being Hermione's boyfriend did much to ensure the continued happiness of Hermione and thus of himself. He always felt that his wife Emma was the best friend he could have and she was indeed his confidant and partner for most of his life. He truly felt that his daughter was blessed to have someone like Harry to share her happiness and troubles with her, just like he had Emma.

As soon as the golden glow around Harry and Hermione subsided, two days after the incident, Madam Pomfrey was at their bed-side in a flash, casting diagnostic charms. Six hours and another scan later, she finally gave a resigned sigh to finally confirm that Harry and Hermione did indeed lose their magical cores. Even Dumbledore cast a few obscure charms to see if their bodies could hold any magic.

"I am afraid that there indeed is no magical core" Dumbledore heaved a tired sigh.

Madam Pomfrey knew about the charms that the headmaster cast but was intrigued by the results, "Albus, I noticed that the charms picked up excess magical energy in their bodies. I know that my own scans for a magical core came up negative but are you sure that what you were seeing is not a result of diffused magic in them?"

Dumbledore looked pensive but then cast another set of charms but this time began explaining the results while casting them, "as you can see Mr. and Mrs. Granger do not have any glow which shows that they do not have magic in them in response to my test but at the same time, there is a considerably higher amount of magic in the air around them."

"That could be due to the castle's magic" professor McGonagall interrupted.

"Precisely, my dear niece" the headmaster gave her an indulgent smile before continuing, "… at the same time, the results of the scan on Harry and Hermione indicate a slightly lager magic content in their bodies, true. Alas, I believe that it is just the residual magic due to the exploding cores and will be totally lost in a few days…"

"What do you mean explosion?" Emma nearly screeched in fear.

Professor McGonagall gave her a pained glance, "when the curse hit Hermione, we all felt a shock wave emanating from both Harry and Hermione. I fear that it was their magical cores undergoing a spontaneous discharge. We were unable to determine what caused that explosion but the presence of a very powerful magical artifact in close contact to Hermione and in the curse's path could have triggered that explosion."

Even though Dan and Emma enquired about the magical artifact that was presumably involved, the three magicals felt that it should be left a secret and told them so. The Granger parents protested but begrudgingly accepted that they would not have understood the significance anyway but also cursed the Statute of Secrecy for preventing them to know the complete details.

Now sitting beside the bed that was home to an unconscious Hermione, Dan was conflicted between being extremely proud and extremely worried. He was still unable to wrap his mind around the fact that his daughter lost her magic along with the boy who was locked in embrace with her. He was proud of the fact that timid Hermione Granger threw herself in front of a curse that was meant, if not to kill, seriously maim her boyfriend. It was a testimony of the strength of her dedication to the raven haired teen and he had to admit at least grudgingly, her love. Dan did not want to believe that Hermione loved her best friend but Emma prevailed on him and read to him the letters that hinted a growing attachment. This incident finally brought the point home that his daughter was in love with Harry Potter.

As soon as he was able to console himself about the loss of his daughter to a young man, he was told that he was gaining a son-in-law due to magic as ancient as time itself. As incredible as it sounded he now had a son-in-law who also lost his magic and that in itself was a miracle. A soul bond was supposedly only able to form between two magicals and even though these two did not have any magic in them, they were still bound! It could only be concluded that the bond took hold before the loss of their magic and the selfless sacrifice of Hermione for her loved one was amply rewarded in forming a bond stronger than marriage itself. Harry and Hermione were now inexplicably bound for the rest of their lives, as soul mates, as husband and wife.

The Granger parents nearly cheered hearing that their daughter is alive all thanks to their Son-in-law? The loss of magic, in almost every case, caused death of the individual but this bonding somehow protected them both. Both Dan and Emma considered their daughter a precious gift and if the boy who was threatening to steal her was the reason for her being alive, who was Dan to deny them that happiness?

Till date they could only see the novelty of the magical world but now faced with the stark reality of dangers that Dan and Emma as parents could do nothing to protect their daughter from, Dan chose to be relieved that he could now ensure that Hermione was well protected. He knew that it was selfish of him to be elated at the loss of his daughter's magic, but he was always troubled that he could not see to Hermione's safety but now he would do his utmost to keep her safe and happy at the same time. Dan was honest enough to acknowledge that that happiness was implicitly tied to the young man who was sharing his daughter's bed. He chose to be happy in the fact that he now had two children to take care of instead of the one and with that decision he was relieved to close his eyes to succumb to the weariness that was brought about by a distinct lack of sleep for two days.

The two slumbering couples were jolted awake when the door to the hospital wing was opened with a bang, admitting a collection of witches and wizards with varying emotions on their faces. Apart from the neutral look on professor Snape, Harry and Hermione could see the sadness on professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Lupin's faces while one portly man wearing a bowler hat they recognized as the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, was ecstatic. The woman accompanying him, wearing a gaudy pink cardigan, was equally overflowing in happiness. The entire group was accompanied by four other members of the Ministry with grim faces who, the two teens recognized to be aurors.

Harry and Hermione were befuddled to see not only the ministerial group who were arguing with the headmaster but also Hermione's parents trying to glean as much information out of the adults as was possible. They recalled the incident where Hermione was hit with a '_reducto_' curse vividly but before they could even venture a question, they were distracted by the desperation in professor Dumbledore's voice, "Cornelius, I implore you. Do not exclude these fine young ones from our society. Do you not remember the sacrifice of the Potters' for the safety of the magical world?" the headmaster begged the Minister of Magic.

It was however, the woman in the pink cardigan that replied with barely contained animosity for the two Potters, "No one disputes the influence or the sacrifices of James and Lily Potter, headmaster. You have to remember that the law states that those who do not have magic have to be obliviated of all knowledge about the magical world." To a casual observer the words of the woman would have indicated a strict adherence to the law, but the undisguised glee at the prospect of kicking out anyone with more influence that the Minister and also the thinly veiled disdain towards the muggle parents of Hermione belied the sincerity.

Ordinarily, the Minister of Magic would not dare to go against the wishes of the more powerful Dumbledore but he primarily was a politician. The return of Harry Potter to the magical world after a hiatus of nearly ten years brought back a shift in the public opinion. Even though his whereabouts were largely unknown, the sympathies to his fate made the 'Boy-Who-Lived' much more popular than even the Minister of Magic or in some cases even the Chief Warlock.

Even though it was blatantly obvious that the boy never coveted the popularity, there was no dearth of fan following, especially in young witches. In fact his renitence made him that more agreeable to the public. The incredible popularity enjoyed by a teenaged Harry Potter could only grow with his age and Fudge realized the great danger to his political career posed by any one that was supported by Harry Potter or by Potter himself. Added to that, the discontent in the public due to the recent debacle of Sirius Black's escape and trouble caused by placing dementors around the school, made his position precarious. Even the more popular departments within the Ministry like the DMLE and unspeakables were openly against his budget cuts. Even though they could not protest against such moves, any chance to get rid of his Ministry would be very welcome to the heads of such departments in addition to his rivals.

Fudge was handed a great gift in the form of a magic less Harry Potter and this was the opportunity for him to remove a serious threat to his position. He was simple minded enough not to think about the ramifications of a free death eater who caused the incident that led to the current predicament. Fudge in fact never believed that there was indeed a very much alive Peter Pettigrew despite the testaments of professors McGonagall and Lupin.

His senior undersecretary Madam Umbridge was quick to point out that professor McGonagall was confounded by the werewolf Lupin and therefore was unreliable as a witness. This also brought pressure on Dumbledore for hiring such a creature for teaching children, all of this giving him the needed impetus to throw doubt on the continuation of Dumbledore in a position of power inside the school. With the help of Madam Umbridge, plans were already afoot to grab power inside the school. Only the scheduling of the Triwizard tournament the next school year halted his hand to make a move in removing Dumbledore. No matter the hurdles, Fudge was confident of keeping his position intact and he was determined to carry his plan through.

The gist of the conversation finally permeated through the exhaustion befuddled brains of Harry and Hermione and they were horrified. They could feel each other's anxiety as if it was their own but for the life of them they could not understand how it was possible to feel the other's emotions. But for now by mutual agreement, they decided to put it on the back bench. There were more important considerations, like the fact that they lost their magic and were going to be obliviated. Hermione was terrified, not due to the fact that she did not have magic but due to the fact that she would be forced to forget Harry, the boy who meant so much to her and who became the only reason for her to exist in this world.

Before the argument between Dumbledore and Fudge could escalate or either Harry or Hermione could protest, a commotion at the entrance of the hospital wing diverted everyone's attention. A huge black dog which looked significantly like that of a grim was trying to escape from the pink haired young woman in auror robes. The woman was more amused at the dog's attempts to gain entrance rather than being angered and it slowly began to turn into a game rather than anything serious.

The game was interrupted when professor Lupin extended his hand and called out, "Snuffles!" he exclaimed. "Come on Boy, come meet Harry."

Everyone in the room turned to the professor who was laughing at the dog's antics as he was trying to clean his face off dog slobber while at the same time trying to restrain his own exuberance of meeting an old friend.

Glad of the diversion, professor Dumbledore turned to the DADA professor who was an old student and also a new friend. "Remus, I did not know that you had a dog with you in your quarters" he questioned with a twinkle in his eyes.

Professor Lupin looked a little panicked at the question but deftly side-stepped it, "Snuffles does not belong to me headmaster. In fact he does not belong to anyone" he exchanged a quick glance with the black dog who was looking with a peculiar face. If anyone could have looked into the dog's thoughts they would have seen confusion, apprehension, disbelief, and finally a little bit of hope, hope that everything would be fine.

The DADA professor looked back at the headmaster but this time he looked deep into his eyes while speaking further, "Snuffles was a favourite with Harry when he was just a pup. He, in fact was more of a _family_ rather than a pet." The significance of the word family was not lost on all those hearing Lupin but only professors Dumbledore and McGonagall could fathom the meaning. Their faces were a picture of confusion but cleared almost as quickly to be replaced with recognition, the headmaster cast a measured glance at the now tense dog.

The dog did indeed looked as if it was ready to bolt but calmed immediately with the headmaster's words, "well then I believe it's best if he stayed with Harry and Miss Granger." The usual joviality of the headmaster was missing but was still able to bring a smile to Harry's face.

After this exchange, Snuffles walked uncertainly over to Harry and sat on his haunches in front of him. Harry rubbed his hand on the dog's face and neck, "Hello Snuffles, I have to admit that I do not remember you but if you were considered family by my parents then I would consider you as family too."

Professor Lupin smiled tenderly at that interaction and interjected, "you were much too young to remember him Harry." He received a smile of gratitude from the raven haired youth; Lupin was also grateful for the chance to reconnect with not only his best friend Sirius, but also with the son of his other best friend James Potter. That sense of gratitude was replaced by sadness at the prospect of losing Harry not only from the magical world but in every sense if the Minister would carry out his plan.

As soon as the thought crossed Lupin's mind, the Minister blustered again, "That's all well and good but the law is clear, those who do not have magic in them or are not directly related to anyone who has magic cannot know about the magical world. These four definitely do not have a reason to be in the magical world."

Fudge knew that if left longer, Dumbledore would probably try and even change the mind of the most stubborn mule and the Minister could not allow him to do that. So he immediately turned to the monocle wearing head of the DMLE, "… aren't I correct Madam Bones?"

Put under scrutiny, Madam Bones could do nothing but uphold the Minister's viewpoint. It was harsh that the savior of the wizarding world would be thrown away as a useless piece of trash after the enormous contribution to a peaceful society but the venerable woman could not even protest the decision. For once the Minister was absolutely correct and was doing the right thing even if it was not the humane thing.

Dumbledore was watching the entire event unfold with more than just resignation; he could not deny that he felt a sense of loss and inexplicably a sense of relief. It could be construed as heartlessness of the aged wizard but Dumbledore did indeed feel a sense of elation that the two young souls would not find themselves in danger as they did the two years they were at Hogwarts. The sense of relief was magnified with the knowledge that Harry need not face Voldemort in a final battle as was foretold. As far as Dumbledore was concerned, the prophecy that tied Harry and Voldemort was fulfilled when the piece of soul inside the young wizard was forcibly ejected when he lost his magical core. If the loss of magic was needed for Harry to find some peace that he was denied in his young life, then so be it.

At the same time Dumbledore could not deny the overwhelming sense of loss at the prospect of losing two incredibly gifted and powerful teens from the magical world. He always hoped that the next Potter would make a mark on their society just as his parents made, but unfortunately it was not to be. The point that gave him the most distress was the fate of the two teens that have formed a soul bond; Dumbledore was reasonably confident that the soul bond and the connection between them would survive the attempts to obliviate the two. Magic as powerful as that was known to transcend all mortal efforts to cause a breach between two individuals bound so irrevocably, but then again it was one of a kind situation and there would be no precedence.

Seeing that no one else was able to object on their behalf and also recognizing the futility of such an objection, Harry and Hermione finally had to accept the inevitable event. Resigned to their fate the two teens cast their eyes around the hospital wing. The emotions they saw on the faces of the people around them gave them some strength; the people who mattered the most to them looked to be waging an internal battle which they were definitely losing. Dumbledore looked regretful, though he was a very politically powerful wizard, his positions as the leading figure both at national and international scene meant that he had to follow the law no matter the consequence. Professors McGonagall and Lupin along with Madam Pomfrey looked almost on the verge of tears, while professor Snape for once did not have the sneer on his face. There was even some remorse if one was to look hard.

Harry also noticed that the team of aurors and especially the pink haired woman had sympathetic looks on their faces. They keenly felt the injustice of the situation but were at the same time bound by the rules and regulations that governed their station. In contrast to the four law enforcement officers, the two other ministry officials were openly animated at the prospect of getting rid of Harry Potter and a lowly muggleborn witch from their society. Harry felt his anger rising at the Minister and his toady but at the same time he also knew that he could do nothing to escape the fate that he found himself in. Most importantly he was terrified of the prospect of losing Hermione, something he found was heart wrenching.

Harry's musings were however cut short when Hermione flung herself against him and wrapped her arms around in a bear hug. Tears streaming down her cheeks Hermione pleaded with her dear friend, "I cannot lose you Harry. You were my first and best friend, now I cannot imagine living my life without you. I do not want to go back to the taunts at my old school."

Her anguished cries were enough to move her parents, Emma immediately left the chair she was seated on and placed her arm around Hermione's shoulders. She was forced to do it from her other side as Harry was still hugging Hermione to him. Even though Dan was not comfortable in seeing a boy becoming the center of his daughter's world, he could do nothing to separate them. Hermione's words hit him with force; her admission about the hard life she had in her school before Hogwarts as a little girl made him ashamed. 'How could he not see that his little girl was suffering?' Dan promised himself that he would do anything to keep her happy and safe and if that meant taking a step back and letting a boy, nay, a young man comfort her, then so be it. Dan moved over to Harry's side and extended his arms around the cuddling group, encompassing his wife, daughter and his new son-in-law; he was gleaning comfort for himself as much as he was offering.

Harry kissed Hermione tenderly and moving back a little captured her eyes with his gaze, putting all the assurance he could in his eyes, he addressed his beloved, "No force on this earth can separate you from me Hermione, never fear." Still with his arm over her shoulder and drawing Hermione closer to him Harry turned to face the witches and wizards who passed judgment over them. Throwing them a defiant look growled out, "Do your worst."

The dark skinned auror who was addressed as Shacklebolt, came forward and with a regretful face lifted his wand up and expelling a sigh intoned, "_Obliviate_".


	4. Chapter 4

**Declaration: ****I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.**

**One-ness**

**Chapter 4**

It is said that there is nothing faster than light than a spoken word and nothing that spreads faster than a wild fire than a rumor, especially if it was bad news. Since, the events before lunch on that fateful day involved probably the most popular couple at Hogwarts and indeed the most famous young wizard, the speed of travel of that news was much quicker than normal. Within minutes of the deed at the hands of the Ministry, the whole castle knew that Harry Potter and Hermione Granger lost their magic and were now not a part of the magical world and before dinner that night most of the magical world knew via owls and floo.

Not surprisingly, the emotions ranged from being shocked at the plight of the two teens to being giddy in happiness, and naturally they were mostly divided by houses. Gryffindor house was obviously enraged; Harry and Hermione were loved members due mostly to their amicability and their helpful nature when it came to new students. They were the shoe-in for prefect positions whenever it would be the time, not just due to Harry being famous, but simply due to his popularity as a good guy. Hermione was loved by one and all due to her home-work helping ability and her desire to bring out the best in her friends and Gryffindor house as a rule.

Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff houses likewise did not like the way in which Harry and Hermione were unceremoniously dumped. Their indignation was tempered however with a healthy dose of caution about going against the Minister and his power base, and the fact that the Statute of Secrecy did indeed put the Ministry squarely in the right. It did not mean that they liked the situation though; they just did not voice their opinions, electing to simper in silence and take in as many lessons from the event as possible.

The students most pleased with the outcome were from Slytherin house; but even in there some of the inhabitants regretted the loss of the boy who was a savior. Those belonging to neutral families or who had pride in their ancestry wanted to stand with a member from the Ancient and Noble House of Potter, but were unfortunately unable to do so. The sentiments of the majority in Slytheirn were always known and going against the dominant mood was not at all conducive to one's welfare if they were a part of that house. Few of the students did not look at the reputation of their house with pride and especially at the actions of people like Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Parkinson, Nott, and even Flint; people who were known to be but not acknowledged to be family to death eaters. The presence of Harry Potter in the castle did cause animosity among such students and even though their head of house Snape did nothing to curtail such altercations, the mere presence of 'The-Boy-Who-Lived' gave everyone a sense of security and he did indeed provide it in the first two years even if he had no obligation to do so. Yes, a few of the Slytherin students did fear their fate in the magical world now that their savior was no longer allowed among them.

However, the one that was most affected by that intelligence was one Ron Weasley; his first reaction was that of disbelief. Ron's implacable belief in the authorities that governed the wizarding world and of that of the headmaster was shaken to the core. He remembered Harry's admonishment to such blind faith, even Hermione was chastised on occasion by the raven haired boy, but given such stark proof was something that the fourteen year old redhead could not handle. There was a spark of happiness at finally being out of the overshadowing presence of Harry and make his own mark initially, something which no matter what Ron could never get over, but that was almost immediately squashed by the overwhelming terror of losing Hermione's help in getting through his classes.

Ron knew that his priorities were wrong; he should have stood shoulder to shoulder with his best friends in defiance of the authorities and not think about his own loss or gain, but then again he was not well known for his tact. Ron always measured things in units that would benefit him and the loss of Harry and Hermione from his life meant that he would be more at loss and that did not sit well with him. He wanted fame and recognition away from his own brothers but he also knew that he did not have their resourcefulness to achieve that by himself. Faced with the daunting prospect of going through the remaining years without Hermione's prodigious help in his studies or Harry's welcome friendship and support, Ron finally resigned himself to re-evaluating his prospects and it was a daunting prospect indeed. Whichever direction he looked to, Ron only found darkness with no light at the end of a very dark tunnel.

Outside the castle, in some houses and especially those that belonged to people who perceived themselves better than the others based on their blood status celebrations erupted. The enthusiasm shown by the participants rivaled that of the gaiety on the day that baby Harry Potter defeated the dark lord Voldemort. The celebrations at that time were so open with wizards and witches even forgetting about secrecy, but this time it was mostly in secret with only close trusted friends invited. After all, the celebration to commemorate the fall of the light's champion was not one for polite society, only for those interested in the revival of the dark lord and the pureblood movement. Unless their master was alive, the death eaters could do nothing but there was still hope lurking for a new leader and the hope got a big boost with the news of the loss of magic in Harry Potter; and when the very few who were privy to the dark lord's continued existence shared the news with the rest, there was no restraint to the festivities.

The wizarding world in general was shocked but as every society goes, no one was able to voice their objections against the Ministry. What would the reaction of the masses at the loss of their savior would have been, if the fact that the dreaded dark lord was not dead generally known, could only be guessed at. Given the fact that no one knew of the significant role that Harry Potter would need to play in the final defeat of Lord Voldemort, the reaction to the shocking turn of events soon lessened and finally ceased to be a topic of gossip, and was sadly relegated to a mere footnote in the modern history of magic.

Things are never as they seem and this was nowhere truer than in the case of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger.

_**Shared, Power He-Knows-Not**_

Meanwhile, the spell that was designed to remove the memories of the three Grangers and Harry Potter was beginning to take effect in unusual ways within the two teens. In Dan and Emma Granger though it worked as it was meant to; they immediately slumped down when the '_obliviate_' took effect and began erasing more than three years' worth of memories, most of them delightful. The parents of a newly minted witch were ecstatic to receive welcome news that what affected their daughter was not some affliction to be feared but was some gift of god that has to be cherished and they did, especially when they learnt that their daughter found happiness in the friendship of one Harry Potter. Now however, in their unconsciousness, all the memories and happiness associated with their normally withdrawn daughter were lost to them, never to return. If this was allowed to happen, they would never know the light of their daughter's life, Harry Potter.

While the black dog called Snuffles, which escaped his stay at Hogwarts, was watching worried from the feet of the two teens, something dramatic was unfolding. In the two teens that were the main targets of the Ministry machinations, an event that would very well change the entire course of history was unlocked due to the memory erasing spell.

Hermione opened her eyes to find that she was lying on a tiled floor in an unknown place, the mystery of the place being made more sinister due to the heavy fog. Rising to her feat hastily, she was beginning to panic due to the looming presence of a dark figure, which looked like a person and was moving haphazardly towards her, as if the person was unsure of moving blindly in the fog. As quickly as the panic set in it was banished too as Hermione could '_feel_' who the person was, "Harry!" she called out tentatively.

Relief flooded into both the two teens as they embraced quickly reveling in the feeling of safety and happiness even in the unknown place. As long as they were together nothing else mattered.

"Any idea where we are" Harry asked the blindingly obvious question but got the conformation from his girlfriend that they were totally lost.

Before they could get their bearings or even formulate a plan of action, they were distracted by a flare of pure white light that seemed to clear the fog but still obscured most of the things around them due to its intensity. Harry and Hermione looked towards the light with trepidation but then again the serenity and the feeling of being in the presence of 'goodness' was not lost to them. Slowly but surely the intensity of the light dimmed but this time it was due to the tall person who was moving towards the dumbstruck teens. From their position, the man was covered in a halo of light which gave him an outwardly appearance, almost as if they were looking at a heavenly being.

When the person finally came near the two teens, they were finally able to discern that it was definitely a man but no one like they have seen on earth. The man was dressed totally in white and the little amount of skin that was visible on his face was also covered with silver hair. As Harry and Hermione were basking in the presence of the man, realization struck them, "I know you!" they blurted out simultaneously and in shock.

"My children!" the creator beamed and gathered the two teens in a tender hug.

The presence of the giver of life soothed the fears in the couple and their confusion, but it only lasted a few precious moments before memories and events flashed through their minds. Events that forced time to be turned back erasing all that had happened a few years from now, events that even looking from an outsider perspective brought a stab of pain and a pang of guilt to Harry and Hermione. With the realization of the horrors that were to come if events were allowed to continue as they did in the previous timeline, the two teens were thankful that they could be better prepared by knowing what was to come.

Even in their elation of a much better life, the reality of their situation hit Harry hard. Normally he would not have been concerned too much by what at a first glance appeared to be his death, but with Hermione being present with him, his anger clouded his newly found rational mind.

Springing away from the creator, he clenched his fists and bellowed, "How could you? You made us live our lives again and charged us with making the world a better place to live but look at us now, we are dead even earlier than the last time."

Hermione was also horrified by their situation. At long last, she managed to get her dream guy who she was sure would be her husband one day and now everything was ripped away. Even in her panic, Hermione's rational mind was more in control than Harry's, "It cannot be that bad Harry. We are in the presence of the creator, things could not be that bad" she tried to reason while desperately quelling her own despair.

"She is right you know" the creator voiced sardonically.

The voice washed over him, humbling him while a myriad of emotions flitted across his face. Worry at the thought of not being able to enjoy his life with Hermione, anger at himself for the unjust outburst, finally contriteness which was clearly written on his face as an apology. Hermione, who during this time came to stand beside Harry, wrapped him up in a tender hug offering him her understanding, sympathy and hope for a future. The two teens basked in the feeling of completeness they always felt in each other's presence but only this time and in the presence of the beaming creator, it was more profound and meaningful.

Giving the couple a moment to compose themselves, the creator turned their attention to the reason that brought Harry and Hermione, or at least their consciousness, into the realm that was neither mortal nor heavenly. "I am sure that I can understand the reason that caused you extreme anger, Harry Potter. What you have to remember though is the reason for the changes in you."

Soothed by Hermione's presence, Harry could not help but be intrigued at the reasons for their loss of magic, but more than that there was a blossoming hope that they could gain something out of the situation. If not for himself, at least for Hermione; there was no other option, there should be something meaningful for her out of their current predicament.

Seeing the look of despair which was fighting with awakening hope, the creator sighed. He could never be angry at Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, even if they have acted accusingly towards him. Their anger was justifiable but he still was the creator, but this was not the time to gloat, instead it was time to help his champions realize their destiny and through them benefit the world at large, "Magic was meant to separate the gifted and worthy people from the others, whether they be human or any other species. I intended them to help out the others in need and if the time came, defend the others from evil. If those with magic itself became evil, then what was needed to contain the evil?"

That was a question that neither Harry nor Hermione had any answer to; they were not even sure if they were to attempt an answer but the debate was rendered irrelevant when the creator continued, "I am the only one who could intervene and remove the threat to peaceful life; but I have also realized the great danger posed due to my inattentiveness. This is the reason I chose you both to do my bidding on earth and to do that you need the power to mitigate the dangers posed by magic users themselves."

"What powers?" Harry could not resist asking incredulously, "we are as powerful as a muggle against magical users. Even if we are alive now, without magic we will not last a moment during a fight."

"Do you think so little of me that I will send you into an unequal battle?" the creator admonished gently, heaving a sigh of annoyance. "To win you would have to be of superior power than your opponents."

Seeing the eager faces of the couple, he laughed genially and continued, "

Remember the prophecy that tied you to Tom Riddle?"

Though, neither Harry nor Hermione ever heard of a prophecy that tied Harry to Voldemort, the knowledge of the existence of a prophecy and its contents that were common knowledge to them in a bygone future, came rushing into their minds. "**…**** and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...**" both Harry and Hermione gasped in shock and awe.

"… but … but what does it have to do with me?" the bushy haired brunette asked with trepidation. Harry looked at her incredulously, his memories told him the undeniable role that Hermione played in the defeat of the dark lord but his own emotions that were unspoken to anyone told him much more, told him that it was because of Hermione, … for Hermione that he succeeded in defeating Voldemort. Hermione made it possible, whether knowingly or unknowingly, to rid the scourge. 'Dumbledore was right after all, love is a power that could take down the most potent of evils…'

Due to their unique connection, these thoughts made themselves known to the brightest witch of her age and Hermione was understandably shaken. She always thought that Harry was the one with power to defeat Voldemort; she knew the feelings that Harry had for her but the undeniable fact that she was meant everything to her boyfriend, the reason to even survive, was humbling. Tears came unbidden to her eyes; she cried for the pain that Harry had to go through in both of his lives, and the pain that the other Hermione had inadvertently caused him. Harry understood; he allowed her to cry her frustrations and pain out so that they could now start their lives with a clear heart and conscience. Never was the bond between them stronger than at the moment that they realized that their lives were indeed interwoven mainly because of the love they shared.

The creator roused himself and cleared his throat subtly to gain the attention of the two teens, he had a lot to impart, "If you were to make a difference to the world, you should be having something that no mortal has. You are my champions but at the same time you are also as close to my incarnation on earth as could be feasible. You will do the job of vanquishing the evil known as Lord Voldemort in my stead."

Harry and Hermione were floored by the declaration of the creator; never in a million years did they think that they would be capable of feats that were not possible for mere mortals and as they were explained about the power that they were being bestowed and everything that went with it, their apprehension grew. It was a very formidable task to handle such power and not err.

As if answering their unvoiced concerns, the creator spoke up, "Absolute power corrupts absolutely and not even the most conscientious of men could resist the allure of such power. That was the reason you were forced to share a soul, you are both the epitome of goodness and morality but by being the voice of reason for each other, your decisions and actions will ultimately be for the benefit of humankind."

"I thought that this was about defeating Lord Voldemort?" Harry questioned.

The creator acknowledged the thought with a nod of his head, "Voldemort though just one man, has enough of influence, mostly by intimidation, to control the actions of even the simplest of men. Even if they were not in any way involved in the governance of the wizarding world, any and all decisions or actions made under duress are never conducive to a peaceful world. Remove the threat of Voldemort and even if you would not involve yourself in the Ministry, capable people will guide the world to a better future."

Harry heaved a sigh of relief at that. He had no illusion of grandeur; he always wanted a peaceful life away from all notoriety and he was also sure that Hermione would not push him to be a figurehead. If she would like to involve herself in governance of the wizarding world, then he would support her, but that life was not for him. Hermione glanced at him with heartfelt gratitude; she knew that Harry never liked the fame but at the same time was willing to give her the place under the spotlight. Not many would do that. Giving him a bone crushing hug, Hermione thanked him profusely and before she could engage in any pleasurable activities with her mouth, she was interrupted by the creator.

"You will work as long as you are together and so I forced things to turn out this way so that you are never parted from each other."

"What do you mean forced us together, what did you do?" Hermione shrieked, her indignation forcing her to overcome her natural reticence in presence of authority figures.

"Why do you think that you entered the sub-conscious state together? How did you come to be in this plane together, for that matter how did you remember each other even after obliviation?" When no words were forthcoming from the couple due to their mouths hanging open in disbelief, the creator continued, "Normally each person is different and even with magic cannot hear the others thoughts or communicate without words. It is only possible with magic as old as time itself, magic so pure that it is even considered stronger than any man made laws."

"When you mean sharing a soul, does this mean that we are married?" Hermione exclaimed, excitement tangible in her voice. When the ageless man nodded his head in acquiescence, Hermione turned to Harry and grinned at him, "It's no hardship for me." Harry did not deign to answer her; he simply captured her lips in a searing kiss as an answer.

When the moment was beginning to turn into something which should only be done behind closed doors, the creator forcibly separated them with a teasing grin on his face. "Now before you get carried away and conceive your first child right here…"

He was interrupted by a squeak of embarrassment from Hermione whose face was already turning red; Harry's situation was not too different but he also had a face splitting smile. Hermione gently admonished her boyfriend, "Harry! We are not ready to do that yet." Even the puppy dog look on Harry's face did not move the bushy haired girl from her stand; both of them knew though that they were not even thinking about taking that step for a few years at least, preferably until they were married.

"Well, before you go away and celebrate…" the creator could not resist teasing the couple who were still at a stage when any allusion to their relationship elicited a furious blush, "… the most important thing that you have to remember is that you can only change an event if a very few people knew about it, preferably only you two or if the changes due to that event were not so drastic that it is widely known…"

Here Hermione interrupted in her enthusiasm for knowledge, "I thought that the most important thing was not to be seen by anyone, especially yourself."

The creator huffed in playful irritation, "… I was preparing this speech for a very long time, I will not be denied. As I was saying, the exception to the above rule is that even if a lot of people know about an occurrence, it could be changed if this new change that has been orchestrated by you will not be known to a lot of people."

It was certainly a conundrum but Harry and Hermione were able to understand the subtle hint as to what event could be reversed first. Excitement bubbled through Hermione as it was close to her heart and she was raring to go, so much so that she nearly forgot her earlier objection. She had to be reminded by the creator, "You have in your possession something which would make being invisible a walk in the park."

The hint could not have been broader if they were to be hit on their heads, but their confusion on the matter was also readily solved by the next words, "Your things that were taken to the Ministry were put into storage and promptly forgotten. I took the liberty of getting them back to you; I ensured that they will not be missed."

By now the couple was fidgeting to be away and the creator bade them leave with a parting comment of, "Remember! Discretion is the mantra…"

Harry and Hermione barely had time to embrace the creator in gratitude before they were thrown back into their conscious state. The resultant jolt was enough to cause the black dog at Harry's feet to look at the two groggy teens with worry, and hoping against hope that he did not lose the one who was almost like a son to him. Harry and Hermione were oblivious to everything else except their own happiness, not at the enormous and almost god-like power at their disposal, but due to the fact that they were together for life, and were now husband and wife.

It was only then that the couple realized that it was nearly dark and they were hungry after missing lunch, they could not however dwell on that as there were other things that needed to take precedence. There was a mistake that needs correction. Besides, a public place like a train station was not an ideal spot for a most compelling discussion which was sure to attract attention.

While Hermione opened Harry's trunk and unceremoniously began to rummage inside it, Harry kneeled before Snuffles and hugged him hard. Trying to stem the tide of tears he choked out, "Thank god you are safe Sirius!" A triumphant shout from Hermione gave Harry the opportunity to discretely wipe his tears away and chuckled at the expression on the dog's face, "We will explain everything to you, just do not do anything silly like running away from us. We will be back in a moment."

It was comical to see the dog's eyes widen at the greeting, whether in surprise or in apprehension was not known. It was more so when Harry and Hermione disappeared under the invisibility cloak for only a second or two before whipping it off again.

"Did it work?" Hermione questioned with trepidation.

Harry just shrugged his shoulders, "Only one way to find out…" with that Harry waved his open hand gently in front of Dan Granger's face almost as if he was clearing the fog on a mirror, while Hermione did the same for her mother.

The elder Grangers woke up from the charm induced sleep fearing what they would see upon opening their eyes but were immensely relieved to see the face of their daughter who was also looking apprehensive.

"Hermione! What happened…?" Dan began only to be quickly drowned by Emma's cry of alarm.

She immediately grabbed the two teens in a hug and began babbling, "I remember that the Ministry was trying to erase our memories…" eyes wide in alarm.

"… How do I remember that…" Dan interjected.

Emma was not done yet, "… How do I remember Harry?"

They finished together, "…What is going on?"

Harry could only laugh in relief while Hermione nearly danced a jig right in front of a throng of commuter's coming out of King's cross station, shouting, "It worked … it worked…"

Giving her an indulgent smile, Harry turned to Dan, "Sir, things are certainly complicated and a public place such as this is not where we would like to open that can of worms." Hermione was still doing her happy dance but both of her parents only looked at her with undisguised amusement, not used to seeing such a carefree attitude in the usually solemn girl. Harry certainly had a very positive effect and both of them were in agreement that they would do anything in their power to keep it that way. It was left to Harry to draw Hermione into an equally exuberant hug and calm her down so that they could be on their way to the Granger house at Crawley.

Their reunion was interrupted by a new but welcome arrival. "Uncle Moony!" Harry exclaimed before enveloping the man in his arms, barely encircling him.

Lupin on the other hand had no problems lifting the teen into his arms, it was more the shock of Harry calling him by a name known only to a very few people than anything else that prompted him to lift Harry totally off his feet. Now that the surprise of an unexpected greeting wore off, questions flooded his mind, "How do you know my other name Harry? For that matter why does it look as if all four of you retained your memories?"

"Professor Lupin, this is not the right time or the place for that discussion. More to the point how did you find us and why are you away from the school?" Hermione asked her own question. She knew that they could trust Remus with their lives and secrets, he did die trying to protect Harry in the last timeline after all, but was unsure as to who else would have known that Remus came looking for them. If the Minister and his toady knew where to look for them, then it could be a problem.

Gently lowering Harry and moving to pet Snuffles, Lupin explained his removal from the castle in haste, "I find the conditions in the wizarding world not to be very conducive to anyone who is linked to Harry Potter and Hermione Granger in any way or who does not have the blessings of the Ministry. I felt that Madam Umbridge was plotting something against me and so took the earliest opportunity to resign my post. Headmaster Dumbledore told me where to find you, I hope I am not intruding…" he trailed off unsure of his reception.

Dan who was intrigued as to the events that led them to this juncture was wild to be away to their home for the secrecy it would afford for the impending discussion. At the same time he was aware of Hermione's letters praising this man and though he was dressed in modest attire that showed a clear lack of money, he was willing to let Lupin accompany them. Harry's greeting the man as uncle and the faith in the man also tipped the scales and so welcomed the man, "Don't worry about it Mr. Lupin; I am sure that the kids would appreciate someone who is a friend and knows more about magic."

Though Harry and Hermione knew that in this instance, Remus and for that matter Sirius would be totally out of their depth, extra wands would certainly be appreciated in case the Ministry comes calling. "We would need to move to Potter Manor as soon as possible" Harry whispered to Hermione.

"Yeah!" she acknowledged, "Gringotts tomorrow." Harry squeezed her hand gently to convey his agreement.

Dan began moving towards the taxi bank to hire a taxi to take them home but Hermione moved them into a deserted side alley instead. Taking hold of her parents she tried to calm them down, "Mum, Dad, I am going to transport us to our house and Harry will follow us with Remus and Snuffles. This way is much faster."

When Dan and Emma consented, Hermione took Emma's hand in hers and extended the other to place it on Harry's shoulder, who in turn was clutching Snuffles to him with both his hands. With one hand clutching his wife, Dan extended his other hand to grasp Lupin. This happened so fast that Lupin's hasty admonishment of, "Hermione! You cannot do magic…" was cut mid-sentence when they vanished without any sound and when he recognized that they were already in the backyard of a suburban home, and that they did not apparate, he turned to Harry, "… that was not apparition, what is going on?" he demanded.

Harry simply placed a calming hand on his surrogate uncle's arm silencing him, "Please let us go inside and discuss this. Hermione and I are hungry and I bet it is the same with Mr. and Mrs. Granger as we missed lunch, please let's go inside."

When the hastily prepared sandwiches were brought to the table, Harry warned the adults in the room, "Listen, everyone please behave. What we are going to tell you may sound incredulous but it is all true and sir, please do not be hasty…" he requested Dan before turning to the dog that accompanied them, "… Sirius, please change."

The appearance of a bedraggled man in place of the black dog was shocking but what was frightening to the elder Grangers was that the man was an escaped convict whose face was plastered all over the news. Before they could react though, Harry flew at the man and grabbed him in a hug, tears streaming down his face and he was only a fraction of a second faster than Hermione who mimicked him. Sirius was stunned, not only at the situation he found himself in but also at the easy and welcome acceptance of his godson and his to be god-daughter-in-law. He imagined many different scenarios about his meeting with Harry but he did not even dare to hope such exuberance.

Harry and Hermione were gently pried away from the dazed man by an equally solemn Remus Lupin who embraced him in a one-armed manly hug. Wrinkling his nose at the stink coming from the gaunt man, Lupin brandished his wand but was thwarted by Harry, "We do not want to tip off the Ministry that there is a magic user at Hermione's house. This place is certain to be under Ministry's underage magic use watch and now if there was magic use after they believe that she lost her magic, they will descend en masse, something which we do not want."

When Lupin understood the logic in Harry's argument and put away his wand, Harry and Hermione cleaned up the escaped convict with a few waves of their hands. It was not a substitute to a good bath, but that would have to do for now. Tears were wiped away and once again everyone took their places at the table and began tucking in the modest ware that would have to make do for now. It would be a very long night where the two teens would explain the reasons for the unique turn of events, starting with the creator's visit in their sub-consciousness, the tale of their previous life time which brought heartache to all the participants and finally to their own special brand of magic that safeguarded Dan and Emma Granger's memories, something which would be instrumental in ridding the world of evil in the near future.

The retelling of the events would be interrupted many times, explanations given and unique perspectives offered to convince the listeners about the gravity of the situation they would face in a little less than an year when Lord Voldemort would rise again. The deaths of Sirius and Remus also brought tears back to Harry, who always blamed himself even if he logically knew that he could not control the natural flow of time. The tale of the trials and tribulations faced by Harry and Hermione in their previous life time, the things they had to do to defeat evil only to finally lose each other, convinced the adults of the need to take a proactive role in bringing the war to an end as soon as was feasible, and to ensure that the couple survived to live a life time together. At the conclusion of the tale well past midnight, the adults could not begrudge the need for Harry and Hermione to snuggle together for the remainder of the night. Not that they could stop them but even Dan had to finally accept that his daughter was well and truly married, and was quite happy to be too.

Even if the tale appeared to be too fanciful, the enormous power that the two teens displayed to protect Dan and Emma Granger was astounding to say the least. That and the unquestionable trust in their daughter and similarly in their son-in-law convinced them that the events of the morning did take place.

_**Earlier**_

As soon as Hermione gave a triumphant shout after finding his invisibility cloak, Harry left his godfather who was still in his animagus form of a dog, and joined her. Hermione threw the cloak over them but before they could even think of departing, Harry had a sudden thought.

Closing his eyes in concentration, Harry waved his open hand in a rapid waving gesture barely caressing the cloak when it glowed bright red under his touch. "Aha!" he cried, "I always wondered how Dumbledore and Moody seemed to find me under this cloak which was supposed to be the 'Cloak of True Invisibility'."

"A tracking charm" Hermione agreed in disgust, "no wonder you were always under his thumb." This was said while her hand was flowing over the cloak in front of them to remove the tracking charm. Now that they were banished from the wizarding world, she was determined not to be approached by anyone from that world, not even meddling but well-meaning headmasters.

Now that they would be totally invisible, even from themselves, the couple reminded themselves of what they had to do. Harry grasped his wife in a hug, tight but not stifling and allowing himself to be 'one' with her, willed them both into the past… exactly eight hours into the past, when it was ten in the morning.

Their arrival was without fanfare or anyone knowing and since they were now using the 'Cloak of True Invisibility' they were indeed invisible to all. They could see the blustering Minister entering the hospital wing with an entourage of aurors and the staff of Hogwarts following him morosely.

"_Remember, we cannot be seen by anyone, even ourselves…_" Hermione sent a mental message to Harry.

"_Yes but that is only during the first time, and that too since our past selves do not know about this power we have now, from now onwards that is not a concern…_" he replied.

"_How wonderful it would be to have two of ourselves running around… and for those who know about us to see…_" Hermione giggled in his mind.

Their attention was quickly directed towards the confrontation that was taking place between the headmaster and Minister Fudge and since they knew that there was going to be a few minutes before things would move on, Harry and Hermione took the time to assess the feelings of those that were inside the hospital wing. They were gratified to note that Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Lupin, and Madam Pomfrey were genuinely distressed at the fate they were to face. The ministry aurors were of the same opinion too, the young pink haired auror who they knew to be Nymphadora Tonks, even at that time had misgivings about the guilt of her cousin Sirius Black. What was amusing to them however were the raging emotions in Tonks when she laid her eyes on Remus Lupin, infatuation, lust and desire fought with genuine concern for the state of the man. Harry and Hermione believed that these emotions formed a basis for an understanding that finally blossomed into love; and drove the woman to harangue the reluctant man to finally marry her.

The Minister and his senior undersecretary, Umbridge were also very transparent. Greed over their positions fought with loathing over Harry and Hermione but finally turned to triumph for getting rid of the two from the wizarding world. What surprised them though was the regret that was running rampant in the hated potions professor Snape. Snape was genuinely remorseful about the inadvertent part he played in getting his best friend and the one who he considered was as close to him as a sister, Lily Potter killed. Harry was free to hate his former professor though as Snape's regret extended only to the death of Lily and all the torment that Harry had to endure at his hands was in a misguided attempt to toughen Harry up to stand in front of Lord Voldemort. Harry and Hermione did not waste their sympathies on that man.

The time was quickly approaching when Shacklebolt would cast the memory modifying spell at them, so the couple quickly merged with their selves from the past. Though they looked calm outward, inside their minds, Harry and Hermione were a bundle of nerves. This was all new to them and at the same time much depended on the outcome of their first attempt to set the past right.

As the '_obliviate_' curse streaked towards them, the two teens once again merged their minds. There was no fancy wand weaving or words spoken in Latin, only sheer will and the couple _willed_ the time to slow down. They could see the orange curse that was speeding towards them slow down drastically and the two teens could actually see why the curse was orange in colour. It contained two distinct parts, a perfect blend of red coloured memory modifying and yellow coloured sleep inducing spell.

"_This is a very handy power…_" Hermione spoke excitedly; before now she was only able to read about the components of a spell and literally seeing them with her own eyes was a dream come true for the bushy haired girl.

Harry shot her a look of mock disbelief, "_Even when we are faced with the threat of losing our memories, you want to dissect the spell…_" he grumbled good naturedly. Whatever the circumstance, he could never stop his wife from learning new things and he did not even want to; that was why he loved her. He could not deny that it was Hermione's immense knowledge and intellect that saved their lives more than once and for that he was eternally grateful.

While Hermione replied her husband by sticking her tongue out, Harry used his hands to gingerly pluck the memory modifying part of the 'obliviate' spell, allowing it to dissipate in his hands, but let the 's_omnus_' part to do its job. When the natural time flow was restored, Harry and Hermione along with her parents slumped into a dreamless sleep; though it was forced on them it was a very welcome one to the four.

**A/N: Thanks for the support**


	5. Chapter 5

**Declaration: ****I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.**

**One-ness**

**Chapter 5**

"Harry, what happened to you after you left the 'Golden Trio Memorabilia Signing Event'?" Hermione asked nervously. She was snuggled into Harry, the warmth of sharing a single quilt at three in the morning, giving contentment. Since the time she learnt of their pervious life, that question was nagging her and she could not wait to know; at the same time Hermione did not want to broach this subject before the adults and so even after their very long retelling of the previous timeline, sleep evaded the bushy haired teen.

Harry sighed heavily, he so did not want that discussion but there was nothing else but to lay down the truth before her, "Nothing much actually; I went to Grimmauld place and just … died."

With a startled gasp Hermione drew herself back to look into Harry's eyes, there was pain in them but also a certain acceptance of fate. Harry gently drew her back to let Hermione lay her head on his chest, tucked snugly below his chin. Tears started to flow out of Hermione's eyes and began to dampen Harry's night shirt but he paid no heed and began to gently stroke her back in a gesture of comfort.

"I am so sorry Harry" she choked out.

"Shh… Hermione" Harry tried to soothe her pain. "It was actually better that way."

Without lifting her head, Hermione asked, "How can that be Harry?" the incredulity evident in her voice.

"As early as the next day after Voldemort's death, I began losing control over my magic. Even levitating a feather was becoming difficult while at the same time I was blasting holes in the ground with a simple stunning spell."

Hermione nearly choked on her cries, her heart hurting more over the pain Harry felt during those days he was alone while she was snogging Ron. In retrospect that must have hurt Harry a lot more, especially after she gave her virginity to Harry.

Harry continued gently, "I was afraid that I was turning into a squib. Imagine, 'Man-Who-Won' turning into a squib…" an involuntary snort escaped him, "… I would have been the laughing stock of the entire wizarding world."

"Harry…" Hermione interrupted in an exasperated voice.

Harry just tightened his hold on her, letting her know that it was not his vanity speaking. "It was only after I met the creator that I came to understand that it was the loss of my soul bond with Voldemort and being unable to gain my true soul mate that caused my loss of magic and life."

The short span of silence was broken when a composed Hermione asked in curiosity, "When did you realize that you loved me?"

Harry chuckled derisively, "After the death of Voldemort." He breathed deeply and continued, "I think I have always loved you sweetheart. The intense desire to protect you at all costs, whether it be from a troll, a basilisk, or Remus as a werewolf, I always wanted to be at your side to keep you safe." Harry's tone took a bitter tenor, "I was never exposed to the kind of love between life partners; that was the reason why I categorized you into a sibling. I consoled myself that I loved Ginny because of the bitter jealousy that spiked whenever I saw her in the company of Dean. You on the other hand, I was happy because you were happy with Ron. I thought that it was due to the fact that I considered you a sister."

Hermione could sympathize with him, her own thoughts at that time were a jumble and it took her mother's prompting to understand her true love. Harry never had that guidance.

Harry continued, "It was only when I began feeling the pain of your loss, after Voldemort's influence on my own sanity was removed, that I realized that I was actually in love with you. '_Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant_', I remembered this from a visit to the church a long time ago when I was a kid. I realized that I was not in love with Ginny because I was jealous of Dean, but all it took for me to be happy was for you to be happy."

"Oh Harry!" Hermione succumbed to a fresh round of tears, but this time they did not last long as her heart sang with happiness that even though he did not realize it, Harry was in love with her for a very long time. She was gratified that she could inspire such devotion in him.

Hermione unashamedly rubbed her wet nose on Harry's shoulder before snuggling back in, "I had a crush on you almost from the very first time I saw you. It was suddenly embarrassing for me and I tried to cover it with spouting off facts and generally being bossy. I so wanted you to take me to the Yule Ball in our fourth year, but you were drooling over Cho…"

"I was not drooling…" Harry cried indignantly.

Hermione giggled, "Yeah… then what was the spectacle of spitting pumpkin juice all over yourself when she smiled at you?"

Harry groaned good naturedly, "You not going to let me forget it, do you?"

"No!" Hermione emphasized it by shaking her head while still resting on his chest, which had the effect of soothing him also as Hermione's luxuriant curls tickled his cheek. Hermione sighed regretfully, "I think that was when I unconsciously began categorizing you as a brother."

A somber mood descended on them, a mood that reflected lost chances and the mistakes they made. Trying to dispel the melancholy mood Hermione spoke cheerfully, "… so when the creator gave you the chance to come back, you took it…"

"Not really…" Harry answered sheepishly.

"What do you mean" Hermione demanded, thumping his chest lightly.

"I was of course delighted, especially when he said that I will be able to clear things between us and have you as my girlfriend as soon as possible. Then I reminded myself that the victory we got against Voldemort was a very hard fought one; what right do I have to risk everything for my own happiness? My judgment would always be clouded by what I want, rather than what was best for the world. That was the reason why I told him that I will do what you suggest, not what I want."

Hermione kissed Harry, right over his heart, "You have a very good heart Harry." She tightened her hug around Harry and breathed in his scent, "At first it did look like that, but then I remembered all the innocent lives that were lost because Voldemort was not stopped earlier. Forget about magicals, muggles could not even be collateral damage, they had nothing to do with the wizarding war and yet a lot of lives were lost due to Voldemort. We have a chance to prevent all of that Harry."

Harry kissed the top of her head, "See I was right in sending him to you."

"… and didn't I do a wonderful job of sending us back in time."

"Definitely" cried Harry, proud of his wife.

Hermione opened her mind to Harry, so that he could see for himself what really happened on that fateful day when she learnt that he died. Her talk with her mother was what opened her eyes to the fact that she loved Harry and the heartbreak she suffered after learning that her own blindness led to Harry's death. Harry and Hermione shared their thoughts which reduced their own grief over their foolish mistakes of the past timeline. They have learnt some harsh lessons, but now was not the time for bitter recollections or chastisements; it was a time to look forward to end the threat of Voldemort once and for all and live the rest of their lives in harmony.

Exchanging a few kisses that conveyed their forgiveness and love for each other, better than any words could, the two teens succumbed to the fatigue of the very long day to catch a few hours of sleep before another long day.

_**Shared, Power He-Knows-Not**_

The next day dawned bright and clear on the Granger household and it was now no truer than to one dog animagus who was stretched out on a comfortable bed. The haggard man was basking in the comfort of a soft mattress and a warm downy quilt to ward off the early morning chill. It has been a very long time since Sirius Black felt comfortable sleeping or even a sense of security that was sorely lacking before. Even then he could not deny the chilling fear that always engulfed him when he cast his mind back to the events that led to this day. The thought of losing the young boy who kept him sane during his incarceration at Azkaban still sent chills down his spine. Sirius recognized the danger that Harry and Hermione, and being associated with them, the Grangers, Remus and undeniably himself were in. If the Ministry knew about the incredible story that took place yesterday, they would be at the doorstep determining ways to either eliminate the entire household permanently or worse, set the unspeakables on the two teens to understand and even harness the unique power that they hold.

Such desolate musings never did any good to Sirius Black and it was worse in the early dawn of what promised to be a very hectic and no less tiring day, both physically and emotionally. Sirius was determined to be useful to the teens even if it was reduced to carry water to them when they were training; but the teens needed him to guide them through the politics of the wizarding world. It was no use speculating that aspect as their trip to Gringotts would let them know if Harry could even access his vault. If not, then they would have to think about moving away from the magical world altogether, something which did not sit well with Sirius. Then again, the wizarding world did not treat him well and the only ties Sirius had to that world at the moment was that he was born into the magical world. If he had to quit it to keep his godson safe, then so be it.

Sirius was never keen on patience; he always thought himself to be a man of action. The state he was in though would render any action on his part not only superfluous but extremely dangerous; being a fugitive did not sit well with him. He had to clear his name but the only source for his freedom was now probably scampering across the country to reach his master. That thought left a very bad taste in his mouth, worse than the early morning breath; and with a huff of frustration, Sirius threw back the covers and stalked towards the kitchen.

As soon as he entered three pair of eyes turned to him; one of those were welcoming and were that of his longtime friend Remus but the other two, of the elder Grangers were vary. Thankfully they were not hostile as they were the night previous. Sirius took comfort in the fact that the two dentists were willing to give him a chance; and that would make their combined goal of doing everything to keep Harry and Hermione safe, that much easier. As soon as that though ended, Sirius gave a mental snort, 'It was more likely that the teenaged couple would keep the entire world safe.'

Shaking himself from his depressing thoughts, Siruis gave the three a polite nod of his head and with an amiable, "Couldn't sleep" began helping himself to some coffee and toast. It was as much as a question as it was a statement to explain his presence at the table so early in the morning to the other early risers.

Dan and Emma were a bit intimidated; after all this was the man who was purportedly a mass murderer sitting in front of them and doing a very mundane chore of attending to his breakfast. As astonishing as that fact was, it was disconcerting to be told that this presumably insane man died to protect his beloved godson who was now their son-in-law. The Grangers prided themselves to be rationale people and even with the presence of a witch in their family, they still coped with the events admirably. The events of last evening though threw their balance off the door and even the early morning tête-à-tête with a very obliging Remus failed to restore their equilibrium. Given the facts, they had to admit the truth of the matter but were hard pressed to do so. The elder Grangers finally decided that they would not dwell too deeply into the events but take them as they come and hopefully remain standing at the end of the day. Besides, their daughter and son-in-law now had the power to control time! What was the worst that could happen?

Before they could venture to engage the escaped convict in pleasantries, they were distracted by the presence of Harry and Hermione at the door. For two people who had only about a few hours of sleep in a very long day, longer than normal due to their time travel, they looked remarkably rested and were already washed and ready for the day. Dan refused to think on the reason they were up so early. He hoped that they were not caught up in any other activities that kept them awake and so reluctantly returned his attention to his breakfast plate.

The mischievous dog that was Sirius could not restrain himself at the sight of his godson with his hands around his wife's waist and immediately simpered, "I hope that you _slept_ well…" This speech was accompanied by waggling eyebrows leaving no one with a doubt of what he was suggesting.

Dan Granger was alarmed and immediately whipped his head towards the newly wedded couple; his nightmare was about to come true, his daughter was not a little girl any more. He was placated a little bit though when he saw the eye-roll from Hermione which was followed by a gentle swat to Sirius' shoulder. "Yes, we slept well" she answered firmly.

After helping Hermione to her seat and arranging their breakfast food on their plate, Harry replied to his godfather's question, "We did sleep well. In fact I think that it was the first time that I felt rested after a night."

"Did you slow down time dear? I do not think that you would have had enough sleep in four hours to look so refreshed?" Emma was curious.

"No Mum" Hermione paused to wipe her mouth with a napkin before proceeding; "… we have to be completely lucid for that to happen. Manipulating time is not to be trifled with and if by any chance our concentration fails in the midst of that, time returns to its natural flow and to the present. I dread to think what would happen if we were in the middle of doing something…" an involuntary shiver ran through the occupants of the house as their minds immediately conjured of the worst case scenario.

It was a bit confusing but made sense. "Then…" Remus ventured.

Harry obliged, "Even though we had a scant few hours of sleep, it was the completeness that we feel in each other's presence that gave us the deepest sleep possible."

"Just holding onto Harry while sleeping was enough for me to feel completely rested" Hermione elaborated much to the consternation of her father who was valiantly trying not to conjure the image of his little girl in the arms of another man… scantily dressed… or even… 'Oh No!' Dan gulped trying to get rid of the images; he had to stop himself from shaking his head to dislodge the decidedly uncomfortable thoughts.

Harry could not even imagine the emotions going through his father-in-law's head, but his next comment proved effectively to rid of any thoughts that Dan might have in interrogating/ torturing his new son-in-law. "Well, with the piece of Voldemort's soul gone from me, I fell happy, giddy even and now with Hermione as my wife, I fell much more amenable to happy thoughts. Is that too much to enjoy?"

All the four adults could not repress the shudder at the thought of the vile piece of soul sticking inside Harry. The melancholy air that almost always surrounded Harry was usually lifted only in the presence of Hermione before, but now it was totally gone. If the presence of just a very small piece of the dark lord's soul nearly drove Harry to the brink, they could fathom the true evilness of Lord Voldemort. The revelation that Harry's soul was intertwined with that of the dark lord was shocking in more than one sense. A soul bond was considered to be the epitome of love; in this case however it was perverted to join a gentle and loving soul with that of evil so dark that even the light from Harry's soul seemed to be banished. It took another gentle soul in the name of Hermione Granger to restore that light. Understanding the significance of Hermione's presence in Harry's life, Dan and Emma Granger could not begrudge the unconventional marriage, instead they chose to celebrate the bonding of two individual's due to their shared love.

Emma could barely contain her tears after hearing the heartbreak that both her daughter and Harry endured in their earlier lives. To love someone so much that time was re-written to bring forth their union humbled the mother. She always thought that she loved Dan Granger with all her heart, but now that she was made aware of the depths of despair that Harry felt after he realized that Hermione was not aware of his love, made her own emotion look like a candle in face of an inferno. That realization brought forth a fierce determination to do everything in her power to keep Harry and Hermione together for as long as she lived.

Totally unaware of such emotions in his listeners, Harry continued, "I feel as if my head is much clearer and I am able to understand things better and also remember better. Almost as if a block has been removed."

Sirius slapped his forehead, "Blocks!" he exclaimed while Remus had a look of dawning comprehension. Sirius continued, "You were very powerful even as a baby Harry. So your parents had a temporary block put on your magic and that also hindered your learning ability. The block was a much stronger one that usual and should have been removed when you were about 8 or 9 years old so that your body gets adjusted to the added magic and then you start to learn control."

Hermione, "I told you that you were a powerful wizard Harry and it was the blocks hindering you" she nearly jumped in delight before grabbing Harry in hug. "Pomfrey did tell us that something black came out of your head."

Both Sirius and Remus look confused why should something black come out of Harry's head if a block was removed. "No Harry, I do not think that what came out of your head was related to that; your magical core is somewhere near your heart" Remus reasoned.

"It could be the soul piece…" Harry shrugged.

In the tense silence that the nonchalant comment brought forth, Dan casually rejoined, "Well, if this dark lord was as evil as I can imagine, is there any wonder that his soul was black?"

That quip brought some much needed levity to the morning. Calming down Harry was thoughtful when he brought the discussion back to the subject of blocks, "I was at the Drusley's at that time and yeah since I was so well looked after, looking after my well-being would have been on the top of their agenda" he finished sarcastically.

The uncomfortable silence was broken by Sirius, "…but Dumbledore should know. He was there to oversee your mother putting the blocks. Even if he did not do it then, he should have done something when you arrived at Hogwarts" Sirius nearly growled.

Remus looked contrite, "I am sorry Harry. I should have looked into it when I came there but Dumbledore forbade any unnecessary interaction with you, he thought that it was dangerous with many of the death eaters escaping punishment."

Harry was not impressed and so was Hermione, who knew the intimate details about Harry's suffering at the hands of the Dursleys. At the same time they could not totally ignore the threat to a baby who just got rid of their leader; they could also not deny that the blood wards were effective, holding out the death eaters right until the time that Harry attained his majority. Whatever else Dumbledore might not have done, he did ensure Harry's safety and that probably was paramount.

The turmoil in Harry's thoughts was unbearable to Hermione; even after understanding the big picture, the fact that her husband was smack in the middle of a confrontation of galactic proportions did not sit well with her. She knew that she will never leave Harry's side even if she was not married to him; their previous lifetime was in evidence to that but at the same time Hermione knew her own weakness. She was not so strong magically or extremely brave in her heart, her strength was in impassionate thinking and her prodigious memory and recall. At the same time Harry was her courage and her focus; without Harry around she would be the same meek girl crying at the threats and taunts of school girls. It was a good thing that she was so close to Harry even before they were bound for life; it would make their life easier to know that they were already compatible rather than learning to be compatible. Their success depended on it, for they have to be together for their powers to work, it was vexing but she would not have wanted it any other way. In a sense she was relieved that she would always have Harry by her side, a far cry from the lonely girl she was growing up.

Shaking the morbid thoughts away, Hermione returned to her inquisitive self quickly, "Sirius, why would Harry's reasoning ability, memory retention, and intelligence be dampened while he had a block on his magic?"

Sirius and Remus exchanged a glance and with a shrug of his shoulders Remus took it upon himself to answer the question, "In a witch or wizard, each and every body function depends on magic to function properly. A very powerful wizard or witch would need to eat very little to sustain himself and that is why even if conjured food is not nutritious, everyone in the wizarding world enjoy it. When you are eating healthy, your magic would take care of your development in other ways, intelligence, conditioning, stamina etc…"

Hermione gave Harry a very sad smile, no wonder he was not that bright when it comes to reasoning ability, most of his magic was expended upon keeping him alive due to the malnutrition he encountered most of his eleven years of life. He worked hard when needed no doubt but it apparently was mostly wasted as he was unable to not only grasp the subject matter but also could not retain and recall what he learnt when needed. Hermione simply tightened her fingers within Harry's larger hand; there was no need for any verbal communication as their minds spoke as one, of love and happiness in their present state.

Sirius mused out loud, "I think that the block in Harry's magical core was stronger than what is regularly used." He smiled fondly at the black haired teen, "… you were a very powerful child Harry. Due to the block, there would have been a lot of magical power suppressed and when it came in contact with another powerful magic, time magic, they collided and caused an explosion that might have damaged your magical cores."

Harry and Hermione had to agree with the reasoning as there was no other plausible explanation for their predicament. "Only the soul bond we formed…" she smiled impishly at Harry, "… on the night of Christmas…" Harry blushed brightly at the memory of the night when they spent together, half naked, while Hermione concluded, "… and the meddling of the creator saved us."

_**Shared, Power He-Knows-Not**_

The group of four adults led the two teens into the white marble building which was the sovereign nation of Goblins on British soil. Though Dan and Emma were accustomed to the bank for exchanging money, their interactions were only limited to a few minutes at the most and therefore were looking forward to a much longer presence in the midst of the feral species. For Harry and Hermione though, their last visit was a brutal fight for survival, not only with the Goblins but also a dragon in the bowels of the institution. However much they wanted to forget the incident, their mere presence in the building brought chills to their spines, but as usual Harry never backed down in the face of a challenge and for Hermione, as long as she was with Harry, she had no fear.

The biggest fear they had right now was the presence of Sirius and how the Goblins would react. Even though he was a fugitive, they hoped that the fact that he was never convicted would be enough for the bankers of the wizarding world, who had their own rules regarding such things. During their last timeline, Sirius was never able to go to the bank and clear his name; the line of succession to the Black name did go to Draco Malfoy with the stipulation that if he broke the law, Remus and Tonks' son would inherit. The outcome of that transaction was never known. This time, Sirius was inside the bank and even though he was in his animagus form, there were no illusions that the Goblins would not identify him.

The group, though were composed outwardly, were apprehensive as they needed Harry to be accepted by the Goblins so that the Potter fortune could be kept away from the Ministry; if Harry did not get it today, they had to see that the Potter inheritance would at least be locked away for his heir. Their wait was interrupted when the Goblin teller behind the window looked down at them with an intense stare and bellowed something in his native language.

The group of four adults and two teens were quickly and efficiently surrounded by an elite guard of Goblins but thankfully they did not have their weapons drawn. The few patrons of the bank that were waiting for their turn, were awed at the sight of an elite guard for a group of wizards and were trying to identify the members of the group. In reality though, the guards were there to prevent anyone from that group to escape the confines of the bank. This was not apparent to those who watched the scene fascinated with a hint of jealousy as they saw what looked like preferential treatment.

The group was led into an ornate office with a plaque that read 'Rainfist, Keeper of accounts for Black, Malfoy, Lestrange'. Even though the Goblin at the other side of the table was not impressive in his height he was impressive in his stare which warned the humans that any wrong move would not be tolerated.

Rainfist looked imperiously at the humans standing before him, his eyes resting on each of them for a few moments, before finally locking with the black dog sitting on his haunches. "Mr. Black, give me one good reason why I should not get the guards remove your head?" he stated with a perfect tone of neutrality but the underlying malice froze the five humans and the dog still standing in front of him.

Sirius transformed back into his human form and with his hands raised and palms up in front of him in a placating gesture replied, "I was not the secret keeper of the Potters and Peter Pettigrew is still alive…"

"Hmm…" the Goblin before them scratched his jaw, ruffling the goatee. He made a gesture with his hand and two of the Goblin guards scurried out of the room. "That's two reasons Mr. Black and both of them very good. Please take your seats…" he gestured again and six padded chairs appeared in front of them, which the humans took gladly.

Rainfist looked at Harry and Hermione again with a piercing gaze, as if he was trying to sort out a puzzle and the gaze frankly unnerved them. The two teens were confident that they could withstand any attack by the Goblins but at the same time did not want any conflict between the two races as the relations were already very stormy. Besides, Harry and Hermione were technically classified as muggles and they did not have any reason or right to be inside Gringotts.

The apprehensive gazes of the humans and the stern stare of the Goblin were diverted when the doors opened and the two guards who rushed out were now accompanied by three more Goblins. Two of the new arrivals were dressed in the uniform of the bank tellers while the other one was dressed in a fine set of robes which appeared even more impressive than Rainfist's attire and signified a higher rank than the Black account keeper. Without a word the three new arrivals sat in the newly conjured chairs on the other side of the table away from the human clients.

Rainfist scanned the document that the Goblin on his far right handed to him and with a nod of his head spoke up, "Mr. Black, we at Gringotts thank you for bringing up the matter of Mr. Pettigrew. It has been confirmed now that Mr. Pettigrew was not dead as has been told to us and so your Ministry's assertion that you have a hand in killing him is refuted. Can you give us any proof as to your not being the secret keeper for Mr. James Potter and Mrs. Lily Potter?"

Sirius brightened immediately and with a grin put his hand on Harry's head and intoned, "I Sirius Black do affirm that I am the godfather of Mr. Harry James Potter." As soon as he finished speaking, a brief flare of light emanated from Sirius and went into Harry who also flared briefly. What was surprising though, or perhaps not to those who knew about the couple, Hermione also flared at the same time as that of Harry.

The Goblins are known to never be surprised, but the events of the day were mostly shocking to them and even though the four Goblins at the table tried their best to look unperturbed, their surprise showed on their faces albeit for a very short time. 'I could only sense one magical signature between the boy and the girl, knowing that he was Harry Potter, I assumed it was his. Now that the girl also glowed in response to Sirius Black's statement, I do not know what is happening…' the impressively dressed Goblin thought to himself. His eyes widened as a thought struck him and he widened his senses, 'The girl and the boy are sharing a single magical signature…' he thought with shock, '…intriguing!'

The party of six humans was also surprised at the revelation but after a moment of thought, they understood the implication and the reason for that. Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance and with a simultaneous shrug of their shoulders, turned to the Goblins.

Rainfist shook his head subtly as if to get the confusion out of his head even though it did not do anything to solve the mystery. But it was not his concern and so he took the box that his assistant brought and turned to Sirius, "Well then Mr. Black, it seems that you are indeed innocent of all the crimes pinned on you and so you have the right to obtain your inheritance as the head of house Black" saying so Rainfist pushed the box towards a stunned dog animagus.

It was Remus' backslap in congratulations that brought Sirius from his shock and touching the ring that was lying inside the box reverently asked, "Head of the house? How is that possible? I was thrown out of the family" he asked in disbelief.

"Your father never became the head of the house, Mr. Black" Rainfist answered, "… and your grandfather was a very astute man. He wanted that only a Black was in charge; even if there were only daughters born, his will stipulated that one of their sons should take up the name Black if he had to become the head of house. Even though your mother banished you from the family, you were never disinherited, your grandfather made sure of that."

With an obvious sigh of relief, Sirius put the ring on the middle finger of his right hand. Those who never saw something like that before, expected some fancy fireworks but in reality, it was very lame as there was only a brief glow while the ring adjusted to Sirius' bony fingers. "Well, that was fun" he said in a droll tone, "… at least now we will have a reasonably safe place to live in."

The next few minutes were taken up by Rainfist's assistant who went through the Black's holdings and inheritance laws with Sirius. Finishing up signing a ton of paperwork, Sirius pumped his fist in the air and whooped in relief, "That's done…" but grew silent and paled suddenly, "Oh man! Does that mean I have to have kids?" he cried out with fake tears and all.

The humans, excepting Sirius, all erupted in laughter at that but quickly quieted seeing the stoic faces of the four Goblins in the room. The Goblins are very grave looking even when they were happy and the boisterous display of emotions by the humans did not sit well with them, but thankfully their glare alone was enough to silence the humans.

Rainfist controlled his urge to sneer at the humans; it would not do well to antagonize his client so early in their business relationship. The Blacks were after all very wealthy and if he wanted Sirius Black could bring back the dowries of Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange on the guise of unlawful conduct. Then managing the Black fortune would net Rainfist a handsome commission which he would be a fool to lose. So schooling his emotions he asked, "Is that all?"

All the humans fidgeted a bit but Sirius placed a calming hand on Harry and in turn also calmed Hermione down. "Actually, my godson Harry Potter needs to take up his rightful place as the head of house Potter."

Humans can say with certainty that they have never seen a Goblin surprised but that day six humans could testify that they saw the Goblins shocked. The tastefully and expensively dressed Goblin who was a silent spectator until now introduced himself as Goldgrab, the accountant of house Potter, "Oh! And how can Mr. Potter claim his inheritance even before he attained his majority?" he questioned. As soon as the words left his mouth though, he understood what might have happened. 'My, my, my, a soul bond' then his eyes narrowed imperceptibly, 'how could he bond with a non-magical girl? There definitely is something going on; what that might be I do not know.'

Harry blushed a bit but then proclaimed with a broad smile, "I have a soul bond with my best friend and now wife, Hermione Granger-Potter."

Goldgrab nodded his head, seeing that his guess has been confirmed, "Mr. Potter, though I can recognize you, our sensors in the bank could not identify Mrs. Potter and you by your magical signature. We will have to check your identity to confirm that it is indeed Mr. Harry James Potter that is trying to access the Potter vaults."

Harry blinked his eyes after hearing that the bank could not identify them; he looked at his wife to see that the brightest witch of her generation was also stumped. Dan and Emma were troubled and a little apprehensive too, they did not understand what was going on but the words sensors and unidentifiable rang alarm bells in their minds.

Harry meanwhile bowed his head slightly and agreed to be tested. Rainfist pushed a button on his desk and a runic bowl emerged from the bowels of the desk, which he passed to Goldgrab. "Mr. Potter, I will use my dagger to draw a few drops of blood which will then be put into this bowl. Your magical signature will be used to confirm your identity. Is that acceptable?"

Even though it was clearly a question that needed an answer, Goldgrab unceremoniously grabbed Harry's hand and made a small cut in the middle of his palm drawing the required amount of blood. Inside the runic bowl, the blood turned milky white and after a few seconds a parchment emerged from a slot on Rainfist's desk which was duly passed onto Goldgrab.

The Goblin took a look at the clearly blank parchment and hmm'ed causing a few eyebrows to be raised. With a barely audible, "Mrs. Potter" he performed the test on Hermione with no chance for any of them to object. Hermione had no time to react but she could do nothing or even wanted to do anything to stop; she was curious enough to have the mystery of Harry and her identity solved once and for all.

For once Goldgrab did not have answers, which was rare for a Goblin who was in service of Gringotts for more than two centuries and had been serving the Potter family for most of those. He began stroking his chin in thought, something that was a very rare occurrence. Only those who knew the old Goblin intimately knew that even though he projected a mask of calmness, his thoughts were in turmoil; Goldgrab would stroke his chin only when met with a situation of utter incomprehension.

Gathering his thoughts, Goldgrab spoke to the anxiously looking humans, "Well, both of you have magic in you, it is imbued into your very body and not as a core that is generally seen with normal wizards and witches. The magical signature though is very different from that you were born with and both of you have the same magical signature which is impossible."

One of the assistants leaned over to Goldgrab and whispered something in their native language and when there were murmurs of assent among the four, the assistant streaked out of the office. Goldgrab continued, "The Ministry of Magic tried to access the Potter vaults under the pretense that since the last of the Potters lost his magic, the Ministry should confiscate the vaults and recover all the money, properties and such. The vaults usually lock down by magic when there are no heirs alive but we were surprised when the Potter vaults did not, we tried to convince the Minister that there was a living Potter heir with magic and when the Minister did not budge from his stance, finally had to manually lock them down. The Ministry does not have any say in that but now since Mr. Potter, you have magic even though it is an unusual form, and that in itself means that no one can confiscate the Potter vaults. Until the day that a legitimate Potter heir comes to claim the vaults, they will continue under lockdown."

The words of the Potter accountant caused a few looks of confusion, Harry had magic, he was a Potter, so what was the problem? The old Goblin ran a tired hand over his face; this was an unusual case, something which never happened to him in his long life. He did not want to offend one of the wealthiest clients, if not the wealthiest, but at the same time Gringotts policies forbids handing over control without proper authentication.

"Technically we can neither confirm nor deny that you are Harry James Potter and so we cannot hand over the Potter vault and properties to you…" he paused to see the reactions of his audience. Goldgrab was heartened to see that though the two teens were disappointed, it did not give him any indication that it was due to any malicious reasons. Due to that, he was hoping that the next words would calm them down, "… there is only one way to confirm once and for all that you inherit the Potter finances and that is what we would like to do."

As soon as he finished, the assistant who went out of the office came back holding a strange three pronged staff. The staff was about four feet in length and was of wood, it was so gnarled and furrowed that it was probably very old. The air around the wood was shimmering with restrained magic and was calling to their very souls. When the assistant let go of his hold on the staff in front of Harry and Hermione, it was left suspended in the air, hovering before them much to the astonishment of the six humans.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, this is a diving staff; its purpose is to reveal your true forms for everyone to see. Please grasp the lower branches and call up your magic…" Goldgrab prompted.

Harry and Hermione exchanged uneasy glances but grabbed the two lower branches willingly. After a few seconds, the middle and longer branch glowed briefly and a fine mist emerged from it. The mist seemed to waver as if uncertain of the solution and finally coalesced into a single blob of fine transparent cloud that hung just about their eye level before dissipating.

The six humans were confused but they were alerted by sharp intake of breath from the four Goblins in the room. Whispers were spoken in their native language and though the humans could not understand the words, the emotion was clearly visible on their faces; it was one of utter amazement and awe at the teenaged couple.

After a few moments of suspense, Goldgrab composed himself back to his business self and spoke to Harry and Hermione, "Mr. Potter, Mrs. Potter, you do not have a soul bond…" he trailed off seeing the looks of confusion and a little alarm on the two teens and quickly tried to reassure them, "… you in fact share a single soul!" he declared to everyone's astonishment.


	6. Chapter 6

**Declaration: ****I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.**

**One-ness**

**Chapter 6**

"… _you in fact share a single soul!" he declared to everyone's astonishment._

Even the sound of a pin being dropped could be heard in the office like a big bang after the announcement; the remaining Goblins were also thunderstruck and dared not breathe in, fearing that they would dispel the silence and start a riot of questions. For Harry and Hermione though, it was a revelation of sorts. They thought they understood what being _one_ with each other meant, but this was unprecedented; still they did not mind it as they would not want any other with whom they would share their very self. On the brighter side, they were not mindless drones even in the company of the other half. They retained their individuality and the only fear was that disputes between themselves would have to be solved quickly, but Harry and Hermione were confident that they would never have a fight that was so bad as to not arrive at a compromise quickly. Heck, they would strive not too have a fight, period.

Goldgrab peered over his glasses at the assembled humans around him and was relieved at the restraint that they were showing. There was no shouting or attempts to discredit the Goblins; if there was something that the war like race loathed, it was being called liars, even in disbelief. On the other hand he was a little disappointed to see that the two teens seemed to accept the verdict without batting an eye; it was almost as if they expected it. Goldgrab understood that the couple knew a lot more than what they were saying; he could imagine that there was some sort of intervention in the lives of Harry and Hermione Potter, divine even however improbable it might be. However, it was not for him to know, what it was or even if there was one.

The elder Goblin was actually bothered by the other three Goblins in the room; the race was known for the tight control on their emotions but the other three including Rainfist were gawking at the teenaged couple. Clearing his throat to get everyone's attention, Goldgrab sighed, one filled with curiosity, annoyance, and even a little regret for his role in denying the Potter heir his rightful inheritance; the closest he came to betraying his own emotional state. "Based on the appearance of a single apparition, I will have to say that there is only one soul between the two of you and as the echo was unresolved, it means that the soul you currently house was not truly either Harry Potter or Hermione Granger."

Seeing the confusion on the faces of the humans, Goldgrab elaborated, "The soul that both of you possess is some new soul. You are not Harry Potter or Hermione Granger anymore. Unfortunately, this also means that I do not have any legal grounds to grant you the right to access the Potter fortune" he finished with a hint of regret in his voice.

The Grangers were speechless at that declaration; they were able to accept the linking of two souls as a part of the magical world. Even in the muggle world, almost every girl grew up with fantasies of a match made in heaven and finding the perfect partner; Emma Granger therefore was able to accept the news that her daughter was going to share her life with a boy who would also share his mind and soul with her, it was a perfect recipe for a life filled with happiness. This news though put her on a nervous edge, their very identity was destroyed. Dan on the other hand did not know what to think, he was not at all happy that his daughter was married at fourteen years of age and now this bombshell. He did the only thing he could do at that time, he saw that his daughter was happy and so went with the flow and decided to be happy for his daughter.

Sirius and Remus, the veterans they were of the magical world were also shocked to hear that Harry and Hermione do not exist in the eyes of magic. In a sense it was a good thing that no one from the magical world would be able to trace them, but on the other hand, if Harry could not be recognized as the Potter heir then the vast legacy of the great family would be lost forever. Whatever it may be, the two teens would be dear to them but they also did not want the Ministry to take control of the Potter fortune if they could help it.

Despite all of these conflicting emotions running rampant, the mood in the room was that of optimism. For Harry and Hermione, it did not matter that they have lost their tags, as long as they were together and still were two individuals capable of independent thought, they were happy.

The humans were brought back to reality with a slight clearing of throat from Goldgrab. The aged Goblin took care of the Potter family fortune through many generations of Potter and he forged a bond with the family. Normally, Goblins were not known to be friendly with humans, it was strictly a business deal between them, but Goldgrab could call the members of the Potter family as his friends. The mother of the current Potter heir, the late Lily Potter was one woman whom he considered as more than a friend. Goldgrab felt her as a member of his family and to see her son in the current state, being banished from the magical world, angered the aged Goblin. Besides, he did not want the Ministry to get their grubby mitts on the vast fortune, if anything, the Goblins should get it as they were taking care of the gold for a very long time. As the Goblins did not have any rightful claim on the gold, Goldgrab was determined to help the young man to get his family fortune, there was only one law higher than any made by mortals and it was that of magic.

Gringotts was forced by treaty not to interfere in the affairs of wizards and so Goldgrab could not technically help anyone who was not a Potter to gain the Potter fortune. With his hands tied, the Goblin restored to trickery, something that the war like creatures never liked, but with no other option, he caught Harry's attention and locked his eyes with him. Once he caught everyone's attention, not just Harry's, with his intense staring at Harry, Goldgrab deliberately lowered his eyes and locked onto the ornate wooden box that was lying innocuously in front of him on the table.

Harry caught the meaning in the gesture and without a word reached out to the box and opened it, he could not help gasping in surprise at the emerald tipped gold ring that was lying on the velvet cushion inside it. Looking into the emerald, everyone present could see the Potter crest floating inside the flawless gem, a sign that it was genuinely the ring of head of house.

Mesmerized, Harry tried to reach the ring but was stopped by a Sirius' hand on his. "Harry" he spoke with seriousness in his voice. "The head of a house ring has powerful magic in it Harry. It is designed to incapacitate anyone who is not worthy of wearing it. Are you sure you want to take that risk?"

Harry gave his godfather a reassuring grin, "Not to worry Sirius. I may not be a Potter by laws that have been made by mortals, but I have it on good authority that I can take up the responsibility of being head of House Potter."

Everyone who knew the true story of their travel to the past were thankfully relieved; if the one who created the entire universe was taking care of Harry and Hermione, then who were they to question his ways? Sirius gave Harry's hand a gentle squeeze and withdrew his objection so that Harry could take up the ring.

In the end, it was all anti-climactic as the ring simply glowed once before resizing to fit onto the middle finger of his right hand. As soon as the ring settled into its new resting place, another flare of light burst forth which nearly blinded everyone in the room. When the bright spots in their eyes cleared, Harry and Hermione could see new accessories on their fingers. Harry had a wedding band on his left hand ring finger while Hermione had an engagement ring in addition to the wedding band.

With a major roadblock turning into nothing more than a formality, Harry and Hermione Potter were made aware of their vast fortune and a handful of residences they could avail of. They decided to keep their names as they were since no one in the muggle world would be concerned if they have magic or not; it was not really true that they did not have magic. In fact the magic they had was neither seen nor experienced by mortals, and therefore it was no surprise that they did not register as magicals during the test by the Goblins. As for them being of one soul, it did not matter in the magical world as they could pass it off as a soul bond, while in the muggle world, no one would question them being Harry and Hermione Potter, well, the fact that they were married so young aside. With brand new documents materializing form thin air, they were married in Scotland and sixteen years of age. For the fun of it, Harry even managed to talk the Goblins into making him a couple of months older than Hermione.

"Now with that taken care of..." Sirius rubbed his hands in glee, "... even though I cannot take out anything out of the vault of family members, I can still demand that the Black family do not have any items that can cause serious harm to my family members, within their vaults or houses. So..." with that he turned to Rainfist and with his tone befitting that of a head of house commanded, "Please carry out an audit of vaults that belong to Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatirx LeStrange."

The goblin in-charge of the Black accounts immediately acquiesced. He did not know nor suspected that the objective of the humans sitting in front of him was one of the most famous artifacts of their world, Helga Hufflepuff's goblet.

_**Shared, Power He-Knows-Not**_

Taking a shower in their new home, Hermione began musing about the changes that have taken place in her life in the past fortnight. It all started with a time turner, a blasting hex and a criminal who was supposed to be dead, and now they were in a fairly affluent house, it was not the regal Potter Manor but was one that belonged to her and her husband.

'Husband!' Hermione sighed with contentment. That was a word that she never associated with herself; she was determined that her lack of earth shattering beauty would lead her to a life of loneliness or one of compromise that would suppress her natural curiosity. It did happen in her earlier lifetime, she dreamed of Harry and being with him as a wife, but never had the courage to stand up to her belief and desire. That led to a loss of her soul-mate and his untimely death but thankfully, fate was on their side and now, she was happily married to the one person who respected both her intelligence and in her own view, her mediocre appearance. Surprisingly, to Harry she was the very epitome of grace, kindness, and unrivaled beauty, something she was still unable to wrap her mind around.

The house they were in was one bought at the instance of Lily Potter, Harry's mother. Apparently, she demanded a retreat where they could get away from the wizarding world and experience the joys of muggle life. It was neither grandiose nor was it too modern, it was a perfect blend of taste and luxury and was situated just a few miles to the north-east of Plymouth nearer to the boundary of the Dartmoor National Park, in an area that was devoid of any magcial influence for many a mile. Both the ocean and pristine wilderness were within easy distance making it the ideal place for rest and rejuvenation. Staying at 'Potter retreat' also helped Dan and Emma, as they were able to live there and work in Plymouth. Moving to a place that was relatively to the Wizarding world also had the benefit that they could not keep tabs on Hermione that easily, even if they were of a mind to.

The basement provided an indoor pool and an exercising area in addition to a warded room for practicing magic. The ground floor was the main area of the house with a central atrium like space that was cavernous and extended even to the first floor and was topped only by the roof of the house. It was flanked by a kitchen with an attached dining hall and a wash area on one side, and a recreation room, a modest library with a collection of muggle literature and a meeting room of sorts on the other. Stairs inside the welcoming hall led to a first floor similar in construction to the ground floor and had three bedrooms on the two sides of the atrium.

The roof had a glassed in enclosure similar to a gazebo which afforded uninhibited views into the park area during the day or of the night sky. Overall, everyone was happy with the accommodations and the two teens more so due to their own arrangement. Harry and Hermione still had separate rooms, but it was only to placate Hermione's father. Come night they were usually in the bedroom that Harry was occupying, with Hermione snuggling into her husband.

Inside the shower, the warm water nearly put Hermione into a state of sleepiness. Her hands began moving all over her body, barely touching it, leaving goosebumps in their wake even with the warm water flowing from the showerhead. Fleeting touches over her breasts caused pleasure to race through her and the pink nipples began to grow and harden. Feelings that she never had in her life before, a dull ache in the pit of her stomach nearly forced her to bolt from the bathroom to embrace her husband, Harry. Her ingrained sense of decorum held her back successfully, but her hands refused to stay in place though. Leaving the growing mounds of flesh, Hermione's hands traced downwards, her target the pit in her midriff that Harry somehow found to be the most sensual part of her. Her finger traced an ever constricting spiral around the belly button before plunging inside.

A few moments of trying to dig something that was not present in there, Hermione's hands resumed their journey southward until they encountered some resistance in the form of shaggy brown locks. At that the prodigious and frighteningly formidable brain snapped into focus, 'Harry James Potter!' she growled in her mind.

As soon as the words were formed, she heard Harry's quite chuckles and felt his consciousness leaving her body. Fighting to keep her growing blush under control, Hermione finished her shower before toweling off and with a towel around her, headed out of the bathroom and with a squeak of surprise, ran straight into her husband's arms.

Harry held his wife, who was trying her best not to meet his eyes, in his embrace and spoke gently, "I am sorry that I embarrassed you sweetie."

Hermione merely sighed and snuggled into his chest, "It's just that I never did it before..." seeing the confusion in Harry's eyes she elaborated, "… except the one time that we made love, I never even attempted it. I was too insecure and it was the way I was brought up and my own moral code too made it hard for me."

That caused Harry's eyebrows to nearly meet his hairline and simply gaped at the girl, no a married woman, his woman. "You truly are a wonderful woman!" he exclaimed.

"What about you Harry?" Hermione asked timidly, "Did you ever..."

Harry tightened his arms around her, even thinking about his past life gave him pain, but now he need not hide it from the one person who was not only a part of his life but also a part of his very soul. "Yeah! I did it a few times a month and always imagined a brown haired, brown eyed girl. It got more frequent during the sixth year when I had a clear picture of how you looked like. I used to get so angry at you that you abandoned me and at the same time, jealous of the idea that you were Ron's and not mine. The only time I could have you was in my fantasies when wanking."

"Oh Harry!" Hermione cried, "I am so sorry. Even after looking at your memories, I still cannot imagine the pain you went through."

Harry wiped the tears off her face with the pad of his thumb, "Hey!" he cooed gently, "... that's all in the past. We are one now, one in heart, one in soul and soon will be one in body too. I am happy. If I have to go through pain to get to you, I will gladly do so again."

Hermione disentangled herself from her husband's embrace and looked deep into his emerald eyes to find only love for her, a deep rooted loved that brought all the insecurities and any lingering doubts crashing down. At that moment she knew that she would never regret losing her identity; she had her personality which was respected by this wonderful man and Hermione resolved to do everything in her power to make him happy. She leaned forward and kissed Harry tenderly, "What did I do to deserve you?" she asked rhetorically.

"It is me that did something right sometime in my life, to deserve you" Harry countered.

They simply relished the feeling of being close to each other and being in love, but were brought back into the living world with Sirius' shout of "Breakfast!" in the kitchen, quickly followed by Emma's admonishment to behave.

Harry released his arms from around Hermione, allowing her to move away. "I would like nothing better than being in your arms all day but I have to get dressed or Sirius will drive my mum mad."

"I will wait outside" he began to turn away but Hermione did not bother, she simply threw the towel down and walked to the closet to get dressed, all the while swaying her hips and giving her husband a show, she ended it by throwing a wink over her shoulder.

"Hermione!" Harry groaned.

Hermione simply giggled, "Never say that I am not vindictive." Soon she was dressed and the couple went down for breakfast, hand in hand.

Father and daughter began discussing about the various ways by which the two teens could continue their education while Harry kept an ear out. There was no way that he was going to continue his magical education as quite frankly, he was not a magical human anymore, at least as far as the various spells are concerned. Hermione and he just did not have the required magical core to do these things; instead the power they have was mostly instinctual and would respond to their commands faster and easier than normal. Moreover, if they tried to do any spells, the Ministry of magic would rush to eliminate more memories at best or at worst, take full control of them to study their unique power. Something which Harry was determined not to let happen.

That left the muggle side of their education. Hermione, as usual, was very enthusiastic about learning new things; she was disappointed when it became clear that they could never continue their magical education, but turned it to overwhelming enthusiasm about muggle school.

"I wanted to be a healer last time but seeing that Harry wanted to be an auror, I convinced myself that it was best if I too was an auror. Seeing the number of times that Harry was injured, I then realized that being a healer would be the best option." Hermione sighed before continuing, "… being with Ron killed any and all enthusiasm for being a professional, and he tried to make me like Molly, his mother. He wanted me to stay at home and be a good wife for him."

Everyone around the table looked at her with sympathy, "Honey! You never have to worry about that again, I am sure that you could do whatever you want now" Emma encouraged.

Whenever he thought that he knew his best friend, something comes along to blow that assumption sky high. This new knowledge brought a fresh wave of pain to his heart as Harry could sense that in the previous timeline, it was a very difficult compromise for Hermione; even with her wishes and dreams being killed, she still hung on to the one man who came on to her openly. Once again Harry cursed his stupidity and his distinct lack of social skills. He improved a lot in this timeline but he was uncomfortable in the presence of strangers. Harry sighed and carefully took Hermione's hands into his and kissed her knuckles, "Hermione! I am truly sorry for the pain you had to go through. I promise that I will do my best to treat you right. I know that our unique bond would circumvent all hurdles but please, please let me know when I am doing wrong. Hit me if you have to but do not let me neglect you. I will never do it willfully but I am not a genius when it comes to relationships."

Hermione simply nodded her head in acknowledgment but within the privacy of their bond, the couple exchanged tender words of love and gratitude for their relationship and even apologies for the pain and neglect the other was put through. Even though she was ecstatic on the inside, Hermione appeared serene outward and just continued to peer at the different educational brochures she had in hand, "Even though I cannot be a healer and need not have to worry about Harry getting injured…" she rolled her eyes at Harry and he simply gave Hermione a bright smile and squeezed her hand. "… I still want to be a doctor, maybe a specialist in pediatric surgery."

"That's a very good choice Hermione" Emma complimented.

Dan though had other ideas, "Hey… how about dentist? You could take over our practice from us."

While mother and daughter groaned and ganged upon Dan in response, Harry mused about how Hermione's life would have turned out if the previous time did stay true. He knew that Hermione was not suited to be a live at home woman. Her brilliant mind would not take it kindly to be doing nothing constructive, and if forced to do that, she would have either turned into a very unhappy woman or would have ended her relationship with Ron. They would never have to know which one it would have turned out to be since Harry was always keen on supporting Hermione in anything she would do. Unfortunately, it looked like she got the short end of the stick again.

"Sweetheart…" Harry called in a low voice stopping the debate that was raging on which was the best school for Hermione and him to attend. Holding her hand in his and giving it a gentle squeeze, Harry spoke, "I am sorry to say, but you will be unable to attend a formal school even in the muggle world for now."

"What!" Hermione cried in dismay, she even had tears in her eyes that threatened to overflow.

Harry instantly regretted the way that his words sounded, but there was no other way to sugar coat it. He immediately pulled her into a sideways hug, "Hey! That does not mean we can't study at home or hire tutors."

"But why not" Hermione was struggling to control her emotions. She always wanted to complete her education and she was even ready to finish her GCSEs when everyone else was going to finish their primary education. Then she had a turning point in her life when Hogwarts beckoned and Hermione was ecstatic when she had a chance to learn things that were not common to all, but now she not only lost the chance to finish her magical education but hearing that she was now unable to attend a normal school was difficult to swallow. All things considered, Hermione still never regretted attending Hogwarts, which was where she met her beloved after all.

Even Dan and Emma were intrigued and wanted to know why and looking at the eager faces, Harry began his explanation, "Not many witches or wizards come to the muggle world once they finish their magical education. The reason for this is that they are simply not qualified to work here. You do not have any records to show your education except for your primary education."

Hermione was suddenly downcast understanding the truth of the matter, but Emma was not that easily convinced. "Surely there is a way to create such records. Is there no cooperation between the two worlds?"

Sirius scoffed and Remus hit him behind his head to silence him before offering an explanation, "There is a treaty which says that the magical world has to share information that could potentially influence the muggle world. The true spirit of the treaty was to ensure that the two worlds would not only co-exist peacefully but also benefit from each other. Then came the statue of secrecy which effectively put an end to any interactions between the two worlds."

"Yeah! Only when there is a real threat to the world or a lunatic like I escaped their justice, would the Ministry of Magic seek their help actively" Sirius grumbled.

"Not really" Hermione interjected, "Last time even though many muggles or muggleborn were being prosecuted for 'stealing' magic, the outside world did not know the true extent of the danger. The muggle government only knew that Voldemort came back from the dead that's all, but the merciless killings of their citizens, who had children in the magical world, was never known to the muggle government."

A pall of eerie silence descended on the recently cleared breakfast table; Harry and Hermione experienced the danger of Voldemort's rise first hand but even though the others heard about the dangers from the couple, it was only know they were able to truly recognize the dangers of the dark lord being born again.

"Any way..." Remus broke the silence and brought the discussion to the matter at hand, "... if any witch or wizard wanted to seek education in the muggle world, the Ministry usually provided the necessary documents."

"... and since Harry and Hermione are basically incommunicado from the magical world, they could never get such a clearance." Dan summarized for all. "Does this mean that these two have lost three years of their education?"

"Basically yes" Remus agreed. "These two have only their primary school certification but still, they could take their GCSEs as home schooled students."

"What about the Goblins? Couldn't they use magic like they did with the IDs?" Emma inquired.

"No" Sirius answered, "The Ministry of Magic is the only liaison between the two worlds. The Goblins, even with their sovereignty, are still considered to be a part of the magical world and therefore bound to the statue of secrecy."

Harry shrugged his shoulders, "I really don't mind sitting at home and reading what I like, when I like."

"Harry!" Hermione admonished.

"What?" he cried in his defense, "... We have enough money as it is and it is high time that I learn how to take care of that. We really do not need to work for a living."

There was nothing anyone could say to that and even Hermione had to agree with that assessment. She thought that for once it would be nice if she could just sit at home and read to her heart's content. Besides, Harry was right, they were in no need of money immediately and she could always go to university after finishing home school.

"All right" Hermione agreed.

"So what do you want to graduate in Harry?" Sirius asked, "... or do you want to be an eccentric millionaire?" he grinned.

Harry took it as an affront; yes, he was not considered to be a hard worker but that was due mainly to his upbringing at the Dursleys and not to mention the blocks in his magic never let him perform to his full capacity. Now that he had a chance to really do what he wanted he was not going to let the opportunity go waste. "Hey, I am not that bad; there was nothing I could do."

Hermione patted his hand in sympathy. Harry flashed a grin, "I do have a plan" he said smugly.

He was greeted with curious glances all around and so he obliged, "The Potter family is well known in the magical world and have a very large amount of money invested. We …" he flicked his thumb between Hermione and himself, "… are barred from there so what's the point in keeping all of our money in there?" he asked rhetorically.

"Makes sense" was the only comment in response and that was from Dan.

"Though the Potters married witches from the muggle world, they were considered to be the pillars of the economy in the magical world and so almost all of their investments were in there" Sirius explained helpfully.

"... but now that is a hindrance if these two want to live comfortably" Emma nearly growled in frustration. She could understand the reason why Harry's ancestors had no money in the muggle world; not that they were not willing to but it would be a bit difficult for them if only Dan and she have to support not only the two married teens but also the two magical adults. "Didn't your parents have any investments here?"

Harry shrugged, "Only a very few shares that my mother was given as a wedding gift and currently they are giving average returns. Nothing that could really support my new family."

"So, you're planning to expand our money base in the muggle world" Hermione stated.

"Yeah!" Harry agreed, "While you work for your degree in your medicine, I will be working on doing my financial management course." There was no need to say that most of their money will be flowing out of the magical world into the muggle world. Harry was determined to make the Potter name well known in the muggle financial world and he would have to do it to as he has a responsibility to Hermione and the kids that were sure to come a decade or so later.

"That would cause a lot of damage to the economy of the magical world" Remus was worried.

Harry shook his head, "I am not going to withdraw completely from there. About half of the investments or a little less are giving good returns and they will stay there; my kids will need that."

Everybody looked sharply at Hermione but she refused to blush, "Our kids will be magical" she just shrugged.

"Those investments that are stagnant will be taken out and moved to the muggle world and form the foundation for my future finances" Harry finished.

"Besides, the return of Voldemort was what crippled the magical world and that was due to the fact that the Ministry of Magic refused to take steps to curtail the finances of the death eaters. It took more than two years for him to rebuild his base but by then the damage was already done and panic set in. Now that the economy is thriving, even if we remove a large chunk of money, the magical world will survive. Yes, it may take a few hits financially but nothing major" Hermione reasoned.

"... and you are going to make sure that Voldemort will never return" Dan agreed.

The few moments of silence filled with contentment was broken by Emma, "Do you know what really happened that day?" she asked referring to the day that Harry and Hermione lost their magical core. They did not lose their powers, only the conventional magic, as conventional as something as magic could be. More importantly they gained something which could never be seen in mortals and could only be compared with the gods.

No answer was forthcoming from the teens but Remus had a suggestion, "After I lost all of my best friends to the one incident, I went to do my engineering graduation..." he trailed off seeing the disbelieving looks all around. "You did not know?" he asked Harry and Hermione.

"No, we really did not talk much other than how to survive" Harry supplied with sarcasm while Hermione nodded akin to a bobblehead.

"Any way" Remus continued, "One of my friends works at the Indian Institute of Magical Technology at New Delhi. He is an expert on magical core and unconventional magic."

Everyone around the table began to sputter or stammer out in denial but Remus defended admirably, "They are much more advanced in their magic use than almost anyone in the world. Just like the Native American Indians and aborigine tribes of Australia, Indians have held on to their ancient forms of magic even now."

Getting into a lecture mode he continued, "When the British occupied India, they saw that they were very powerful users and so brought restrictions in the form of conventional magic use and wands. Even then quite a few of the old families relied on the ancient magic and when they gained independence, they just restored to the age old methods of using staff, weapons like a sword or arrows with magic and can use them with deadly results." He went on to share some anecdotes of his time with his friend and convinced Harry and Hermione to give it a shot.

_**Shared, Power He-Knows-Not**_

In India, summer usually starts around early May and leaves during August and it is during that time that Harry and Hermione along with two parents and two parent like figures, had to go to visit the famed Indian Institute of Magical Technology. This was due to the fact that the Schools close by the end of May for the summer and the places of interest would get very busy with foreigners and Indians touring them, even though it would generally be scorching hot.

Even though they knew that Remus was not prone to exaggeration, Harry and Hermione were still skeptical about IIMT. Besides, they were really not interested in knowing what happened to them that caused a loss of their magical core. For them it was a boon from the creator and getting some cool new powers was a bonus. One of the main reasons they agreed to meet this scientist was curiosity but there was an underlying desire to visit the greatest monument for love, the Taj Mahal at Agra, which ironically was a tomb.

Apart from the detour to the marble monument, the travelers also enjoyed the experience of touring the environs around New Delhi without the pressure of a cramped schedule which was so often the norm with a guided tour. Thankfully their guide was sent from the IIMT on Remus' request and so Harry and co. had a leisurely visit to all the famous places.

All playfulness left the moment they entered the glass façade of the spacious building that housed some of the leading researchers in magic. They were met at the reception desk by a middle aged man with features that reminded Harry and Hermione of someone but were unable to pinpoint exactly who. After helping them with the guest registration, the man introduced himself as Badrinath Patil

"Patil!" Hermione exclaimed, "We knew Parvati and Padma Patil. Are you related to them?" she asked in excitement, too late to realize that they were not supposed to be a witch or a wizard. While the adults looked at Hermione incredulously at the way she gave the game away, Harry simply looked at her with sympathetic understanding.

Looking at the mortification on Hermione's face, Dr. Patil let out a belly laugh, "Do not frighten the girl, guys." Then he turned serious, "I know who you are from not only my nieces Padma and Parvati, but the nws of one of the influential figures in the wizarding world forced to leave it, traveled far and wide. Still, whatever we discuss here today will be under a strict confidentiality clause."

During this time they reached a well-furnished room which turned out to be the private meeting room attached to Dr. Patil's instrumentation room. In the room they were met by a beautiful lady with well-defined features and a darker complexion so common to southern India. Dr. Patil walked up to the woman and gave her a quick peck before turning to his guests, "This is my wife, Dr. Iravathi Patil, originally from Sri Lanka…" then gesturing to his visitors began introducing them, "… these dear, are our clients from England and my very good friend Remus Lupin. The others are friends of his, Sirius Black, Drs. Daniel and Emma Granger, their daughter Hermione Granger-Potter…" hearing that name Iravathi's eyes widened in surprise and it deepened when she heard the final name, "… and this is her husband Harry Potter."

All the visitors immediately turned, as one, to Dan and he did not disappoint and immediately grumbled under his breath much to the amusement of the others.

Iravathi, who happened to be seated on the other side of Hermione, turned to her and asked in a stage whisper, "Disgruntled father?"

Hermione suppressed a giggle escaping her by using her hand and only nodded her head. Dan was still muttering but one could see a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth and caught the words spoken under his breath, "I am far too young to be a grandfather" he shuddered theatrically causing an explosion of merriment from those all around.

Over tea and biscuits, Harry and Hermione shared whatever happened to them except the role of the creator and the time turner. They were not sure if they should mention the time turner as it was a very restricted article and besides, they wanted to keep their powers a secret, as for the creator, who would believe them. It was easy convincing the four adults in their lives but the two researchers before them were unknown quantities and even with the confidentiality clause, they were not sure that the matter would indeed remain a secret. If that happened, it wouldn't be long before the Ministry of Magic in England would drag them for learning their secrets or worse use them as tools; on the other hand there were the death eaters and Voldemort. No, it was better for them not to say anything about the time turner.

In the confines of their lab, Badrinath and Iravathi conducted a battery of tests, which included both magic and particle energy measuring instruments, various oscilloscopes, bolometer, radiometer and whatever the two scientists could get their hands on. All their efforts led them to a surprising conclusion, "Goodness me!" Iravathi exclaimed, "You do not have a magical core but you have magic in you, some very powerful magic…"

"Whoa! Slow down dear" Badrinath soothed his wife, "Let's take it from the top."

Everyone agreed to that. "That would be a lot better" Harry mumbled under his breath.

"First things first, you have magic but do not have a magical core…" the researcher blurted out barely restraining himself.

"How is that possible" Remus interrupted before Badrinath could go on.

Giving his friend a glare, the man continued from where he was interrupted, "… as I was saying…" he stopped again to give a childish glare and was whacked upside of his head by his wife, who then took up the explanation shaking her head at her husband's antics, "… he can be such a baby…" Iravathi sighed, "… any way, the magical core is not solid like you think of the core of the earth or of any other object. It is made of millions or even trillions, depending on the strength of the wizard or the witch, of particles which are dispersed from the core to perform whatever spells are being cast."

"Oh! Like photons of energy…" Dan interjected.

Everyone including Harry who knew the concept of photons or the core of a nuclear reactor nodded their heads in understanding while Sirius only had a very eloquent, "Huh?" in response.

Remus simply shook his head when Badrinath tried to think of an explanation for the non-muggle in their group. "Never mind, I will explain it to you later with cartoons" Remus teased his longtime friend who huffed in response.

As Sirius was going to retort and the situation looked to be turning into a ridiculous caper, one word rang out silencing everyone, "Boys!" Emma spoke. There was no threat or any increase in the volume, but that was enough to bring both Sirius and Remus to order. They were at the receiving end of quite a few of Emma's set downs to behave and they complied immediately.

"Thank you…" Badrinath gave her a short bow and before his wife could continue, jumped in with the explanation, "… These particles are held together by cohesive and adhesive forces and therefore they are needed to be jolted out of the core by using the intent to do the spell."

"Intent?" Hermione interrupted, "Does that mean that wand motions and incantations are meaningless?"

Iravathi gave her a grim smile, "Do you see House elves, Goblins, or any other magical creature use wands or spew out gibberish?"

Harry looked at his wife and provided the answer, "No, they merely snap their fingers or in some cases do not even do that."

While everyone was digesting this information, they understood why Remus recommended meeting the two researchers. They were experts in the field of unconventional magic. Remus' words about the British witches and wizards imposing wand use to curtail the power of other countries they occupied also rang true.

The strained silence was broken by Iravathi who took the opportunity to turn the spotlight away from her eager husband and back onto herself, "In your case, the core somehow disintegrated and your entire body was converted into a magical core, in essence you are walking wands."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew that she made a mistake as she looked at the unmistakable glint in the eyes of Sirius Black. She was proven correct when Sirius grabbed Harry's hand and immediately directed a 'tickling hex' at his classmate. All the students of Hogwarts were exposed to non-verbal spells and even simple wandless spells and since both of these require a strong intent rather than incantations and wand movements, Sirius' hex connected with devastating results.

The recipient of the hex was a veteran of the wizarding war and was also used to the rough and tumble of a street fight, being a werewolf also gave him enhanced tolerance to most simple hexes. True to the researcher's thoughts, Harry did indeed act as a wand but instead of being a focused spell as was intended with a wand, Remus' entire body was subjected to an intense spell of tickling. He was left nothing more than a sputtering and flailing mass as the uncontrollable fingers of the hex began working their magic. Remus was left to writhe on the ground in agony while at the same time Sirius was rolling in laughter.

Looking at the two so called adults in their lives, Hermione snapped and with an icy glare directed at Sirius threatened him, "Oi! You wet dog, any more antics from you, and I will personally make your life a hell. Your stay at Azkaban would look like a resort." It was the first time that Hermione really lost her cool, she was a very polite and soft spoken woman but Sirius was able to break the patience of even such a gentle soul.

Sirius meanwhile was nodding his head so fast that there was a danger for it to topple off his shoulders; even though everyone was laughing at his predicament, the four adults that knew the power the two teens possessed knew that Hermione was capable of going through with her threat too. Remus had to be assisted from the ground and taken to the resident healer; the laughing fit actually turned out to be dangerous for even the hardened body of the werewolf. He had three broken ribs and multiple bruises when he hit the floor.

With profound apologies and after nearly begging for forgiveness on bended knees, Harry and Hermione let Sirius without any physical harm though he did get a thorough tongue lashing from the two ladies present.

After that brief but painful interlude, they congregated again in the lounge attached to Dr. Patil's lab. "Well, continuing from where we left off..." Badrinath began, "... both of you have two distinct magical signatures, one I assume is your own and one foreign magic, very powerful too..." he peered at the two teens from over his bifocal glasses hinting at the question that he wanted to ask but was polite enough not to ask.

Before anyone else can speak though, Hermione squashed the curiosity right away, "Yes, Dr. Patil, we know about the foreign magic..." her statement brought a disappointed frown to the two Patils but was quickly changed to confusion when Hermione finished, "... what we now have is actually a combination of three different signatures."

Badrinath gaped at that information while his wife was merely pensive and when she met her husband's eyes, he immediately nodded his head before jumping up and rushing into the lab. "He went to get an instrument that would confirm or deny your assertion."

Though it felt as if the two scientists did not trust their words, Harry and Hermione took no offense. After all, to prove something as a fact, there has to be convincing evidence.

The excited researcher came back to the group with what looked like a Geiger-Muller counter; it had a hand held until with a probe that can be detached and extended via a flexible cord. Flipping the machine on, he ran it over Harry's torso but not really touching him, making certain adjustments using dials situated on the base unit. After a couple of tries, he gave a grunt of satisfaction and did a final scan. Taking a note of the results, he passed the unit to his wife, who ran the probe over Hermione and compared the results.

"Wonderful!" the scientist couple exclaimed in glee. "You have a soul bond..." Iravathi continued, "That's the reason why both of you have a mixed signature and why you are considered husband and wife." She suddenly threw her hands around the two teens and nearly suffocated them in her enthusiasm. No one tried to contradict the idea, as even the Goblins could not identify the nature of the relationship between the two teens, and it was not far from the truth.

Badrinath turned pensive, "I guess you have to stay near each other for your magic to work?"

Harry and Hermione's eyes immediately widened at that. They were frustrated to learn that they had to be in contact if they wanted to use their special powers and neither Sirius nor Remus had a solution to their failing. Now it seemed that there was a way to go around the obstacle, if there was one, it would indeed be a boon.

Harry nodded his head, "Hold hands actually."

"Hmm..." Badrinath pursued his lips, "... It seems that your bond has not stabilized yet..." he squinted at them and continued, "... It would probably be the same till you attain magical maturity and that is still a few years away."

'It's not that the bond is unstable, but the fact that the enormous power they now wield could not be contained by one person without corrupting. Absolute power corrupts absolutely' Remus reminded himself wryly. Even now he was astounded that his best friend's son held power that could wipe out the life on Earth as they knew. At the same time he was also happy that if such a power was to be given to humans, then there were no two better than Harry and Hermione.

He hastily interrupted his musings and turned his attention to Badrinath who was explaining a way around their predicament, a ring made of wood and containing a part of their magical essence. He was proposing a lock of hair, some nail clippings, and a few drops of blood from both of them, held together by the wooden ring that can always stay in contact with their skin. "... so you see these rings can carry a part of your other half with you always allowing you to use magic even if you are not in contact." He grimaced, "... It may not last long, probably only a few spells but I think that it will give you enough time to make a strategic withdrawal or find your partner for a better stand."

That was a lot better than what they had now and so they agreed. "Can you do something other than a ring, I have quite a few of them" Harry cringed and was seconded by Hermione.

Badrinath shared a glance with his wife before drawling, "We could make a necklace out of it."

Harry shuddered but the idea appealed to Hermione; to have a part of Harry close to her heart was like a dream come true. Yes, she was one with him, but having a physical presence was something else altogether.

It was agreed upon and once all the required ingredients except for blood was gathered from the two teens, the party was ready to bid goodbye to the husband and wife team.

"It will take me a couple of days to make it, will you be in Delhi?" Iravathi inquired.

"No" Remus replied, "We planned to tour Kullu, Manali, and surrounding areas and will be back in Delhi on the day we fly back to England, one week from now."

Iravathi clapped her hands in delight, "Ooh! That region is lovely..." she winked at Hermione, "... it is a great spot for a honeymoon."

She was answered with a furious blush from not only Hermione but also from Harry, but this time even Dan joined in the teasing. After a few minutes of good-natured teasing, Badrinath spoke, "If you give me the flight details, I can bring the completed pendants to the airport. As soon as you get them, both of you will have to add a few drops of blood to each of the pendants and remember to do it again once a week."

With smiles all around, the group of six foreigners left to their hotel.


	7. Chapter 7

**Declaration: ****I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.**

**One-ness**

**Chapter 7**

"Good afternoon Miss Tonks" Remus greeted the pink haired young woman sitting inside a slightly less crowded and often less visited coffee house in Diagon Alley. After learning about the treatment doled out to Harry and Hermione by the magical world, the werewolf was unwilling to venture into that realm himself. However, the young couple, with able support from the Grangers and Sirius talked him into becoming the public face of their small but happy family. Everyone knew him to be friends with James and Lily Potter, everyone knew him to be friends with Harry Potter, but no one knew that he was still in contact with Harry Potter. A fact which they would like to keep in the dark for as long as possible.

Even though he was very reluctant to expose himself to the wizarding public in general, Remus could not deny that he was the only one in a position to get things done in the magical world. With the recent attack on a few muggles during the Quidditch world cup, it was evident that the time for peace was at an end and the resumption of hostilities by the death eaters was at hand. Harry and Hermione did warn them about the attack and its aftermath, but hearing about it and actually experiencing it were two widely different things.

The two teens wanted Remus to see if they could somehow capture or neutralize Barty Crouch Jr. and as far as they knew, the only time it could be safely accomplished was during the world cup. Remus tried to capture the escaped death eater but found that the house elf Winky was surprisingly tenacious at guarding her charge. Just as before, Barty Crouch Jr. was able to get a wand, this time it was of Ron Weasley and in the process was able to escape to make his way to take the place of Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody.

In the end, the group decided that it was for the best. If things continued as they did previously, they at least knew where to find the imposter and not only that, they would have a control on when they could target their main concern, Lord Voldemort.

Their other line of attack was to destroy all of Lord Voldemort's horcruxes and not let things go as they did the last time, plunging the magical world into chaos. With help from the Goblins they were already able to destroy Helga Hufflepuff's cup and Salazar Slytherin's locket. Two others were easy to get, the ring that belonged to Guant family and Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem. Getting the diadem without alerting Dumbledore would be next to impossible and they were still debating on the issue of taking the headmaster into confidence.

The ring hosting the Resurrection Stone presented its own problem. Harry was not sure when he had the vision of Lord Voldemort killing the elderly caretaker of Riddle Manor, all he remembered was that it was around his birthday. Before they could retrieve it though, they had to be sure that the ring was indeed hidden away inside the shack on the Manor grounds. Harry and Hermione were not certain whether the ring was buried at that place by Lord Voldemort long ago or if it was done only after Lord Voldemort returned to the Manor house during the very summer.

They could get the ring anytime if it was the former, but if it was Peter Pettigrew who hid it away under Lord Voldemort's orders then they had to wait until it was hidden away before they could attempt to retrieve it, lest they alert the dark lord. So after scouring all the available newspapers, the group finally hit pay dirt when they spotted the news article about the death of Frank Bryce under suspicious circumstances.

Harry and Hermione after consultations with the adults of their family, decided that it probably was the time to have someone from the DMLE on their side, preferably one they trusted implicitly in the previous lifetime. And that was why Remus was greeting the young woman who was apparently his wife in the future and he was determined to make it so again. Harry and Hermione did a great job to convince him that he did indeed deserve such an effervescent woman, and looking at her now, who was he to deny himself the pleasure.

Auror Nymphadora Tonks was also taking a look at the man who requested a meeting with her in an out of the way but still respectable establishment. She never patronized the coffee house she was currently sitting in, but her enquiries gave her the knowledge that the establishment was run by a muggle-born who chose to forgo his magical training and was content with his muggle roots. Tonks, as she would like to be called, felt as if this was further evidence to the likelihood that the divide between the two contrasting worlds was growing and there was no way to bridge the gap.

Like everyone who survived in the aftermath of Lord Voldemort's terror attacks, Tonks also felt a debt of gratitude to the 'Boy-Who-Lived'. Intellectually she knew that a baby Harry could not get rid of the dark lord but it was not possible to ignore the emotional upheaval the event brought and so like everyone else she adored Harry Potter. But now, the magical world lost their saviour and with the apparent resumption of hostilities in the quidditch world cup, she feared the loss of their icon.

Sitting in the coffee house and sipping her tea, Tonks allowed her gaze to roam over the man who was now ordering his own evening snack. She heard stories from her mother about the clique of friends who were closer than brothers, James Potter, her own cousin turned traitor Sirius Black, the dead man Peter Pettigrew, and finally the one in front of her, Remus Lupin the werewolf.

Tonks could not deny that she was attracted to this man; her own experiences of being ostracized for being a metamorphmagus, something that was not in her hands, made her willing to give this man a chance. If he did not hurt or kill others just for the fun of it, and if he was genuinely a decent man, Tonks was willing to work it out with him. She could wish for it, but Tonks was also sure that Mr. Lupin would not be interested in someone like her. She did not know why Remus wanted to meet her, nor was she willing to believe that the best friend of the man who was labelled as a betrayer of James and Lily Potter was someone to be feared, without giving him a chance. On the other hand, she was also ready to not only defend herself but also ready to use force if needed to subjugate him. He was dressed neatly in not too expensive clothes, but at the same time, not in filthy grab that most werewolves preferred, and Tonks realized that Remus had a presence that she was unconsciously attracted to. She also admired the man's principles of leaving behind a world that was cruel to his best friend's son, Harry Potter, even if he lived in it for most of his adult life. He was someone, Tonks decided, she was willing to get to know better.

Nursing their hot tea, the two sized each other up and found that the other was easy on the eye. Remus was a little apprehensive, he did not want to lose the good opinion of the woman in front of him, but he had to do it. "Miss Tonks…" he began, "… I know that this is very unconventional and that you do not really know me nor trust me."

He looked across the table and surprisingly was unable to discern what Tonks was thinking at that moment. Her face was perfectly impassive, at least it was not hostile, may be a bit of curiosity peeking out. Taking courage, he continued, "You were there when Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were deemed to be unfit for the magical world and banished, but you were sympathetic to their plight."

Tonks could not prevent the automatic nod of assent that followed the declaration. The event was something which pained her a lot and more so since she could do nothing to prevent it. Being in Law enforcement, she knew the rules and the statute of secrecy was explicit on who could and could not know about the magical world. The two teens were obliviated and sent away, but the way it was done and the absolute callousness displayed against the muggle-born Hermione Granger still rankled her.

She focused back on what Remus was saying, "We…" he declined to answer her pointed look demanding an explanation as to who the others were before continuing, "… we need someone who is in the DMLE and willing to help us out."

Now Tonks was a little apprehensive. Yes, she was in the DMLE and recently promoted to auror from a field agent. In a male dominated work force, she was one of the very few women who caught the eye of Amelia Bones, the director of DMLE. Even though her mother's family, the Blacks were labelled to be darker than their name, Tonks did gain the respect, however grudging it might have been, of the entire auror force. She did not want to lose that with a single act, but at the same time, she could not deny the nagging feeling about Remus' request.

Seeing her guard up, Remus hastened to calm her down. "I know that it is very unusual and suspicious, but I believe that your help will not only be very valuable to us but you might come to know a few things that would change your perception of a lot of events."

Harry and Hermione decided that no one else should know the truth of their time travelling experience. Even though they trusted Tonks with their lives, they also knew that the fewer who knew about their secret, the better it would remain a secret. Therefore, only Hermione's parents, Sirius, and Remus would know about that. If Remus and Sirius wanted to tell the secret to their wives, they would have to swear a secrecy oath, but hopefully that was some years away and after a time when the power of the secret would be rendered harmless.

"My mother heard only good things about you Mr. Lupin, but that was from my cousin Sirius" she grinned at the grimace that escaped Remus. Tonks continued, "… as you can guess, I am a little leery with such a recommendation."

Remus silently cursed the situation, he did not want to accept the fact that he was in contact with Sirius, in a very public place. "As I told you before Miss Tonks, it may prove to be very educational for you to meet with us" he finally managed.

Tonks was intrigued enough to actually think about that; normally if anyone was to ask her to come with them, she would have laughed at them or struck her hand in their face. The facts that surrounded Remus Lupin however, made her pause. Tonks realized that he was the only connection to not only Sirius Black but also to Harry Potter, irrespective of the fact that Harry knew about the magical world or not. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, was this the reason that Remus wanted her to accompany him? Did Harry Potter somehow survive the obliviation attempt or was this related to Sirius Black?

If one was to examine the time of Mr. Lupin's exit from the magical world, it would have been an awful coincidence if it was not deliberate. He removed himself on the night of the same day that Harry Potter himself was banished from the magical world and that too when not only Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, but the head master Albus Dumbledore also claimed that Peter Pettigrew was alive. They were dismissed as rumors, but Tonks could not just reconcile to that. If she was to overlook them as just some coincidence, then she was not fit to be a law enforcement officer. With that decision made, Tonks agreed to accompany him and immediately finishing their small meal, exited the coffee house with Remus.

"I have to warn you Miss Tonks, the place we are going is in an exclusively muggle area. We take care not to have any magical activity in that area so as to not alert the Ministry of Magic to the presence of magicals." Lupin warned the young auror.

This only further confirmed Tonks' suspicions. They were definitely concerned about the Ministry and that would mean that either they were fugitives from the law or someone who was magical but wanted to hide from the authorities. "I understand" she replied readying herself for any eventuality. She was skilled enough to defend herself without magic, but she would be badly overmatched in an unequal fight, especially with a werewolf. Now that she committed herself to follow her gut instincts, Tonks could not withdraw, so into the breach she was to go.

Remus and Tonks flooed from the Leaky Cauldron to the designated flooing point at Plymouth and from there made the ten mile journey from the 'Plymouth Hoe Memorial' to the 'Potter Retreat' by car. During the journey, Remus tried to get the young auror talking to get to know her. Harry and Hermione could not give him any details as to how they came to date during the past lifetime as they were at Hogwarts when the event happened. During the very short time that he interacted with Nymphadora Tonks, Remus was able to discern that she was unlike any other woman he knew, of the very few that he actually knew. Only one lady came close to Tonks' easy going personality and open-mindedness and that was his dear friend Lily Potter.

Meanwhile, Tonks was also realizing that her attraction to the quiet man who had a hidden strength that would be a force to reckon with, was growing at an alarming speed. Being in a male dominated profession, she was often seen with barely contained disdain, especially due to her status as a half-blood. Born to a pure-blood Black who renounced her family to marry a muggle-born, Nymphadora Tonks had to endure a lot even during her Hogwarts days and getting into the auror force did not make much of a difference. Due to the polarized view of males, she never dated anyone. Somehow the man driving her to an unknown destination made a mark on her perception and she really feared that she was allowing the attraction to cloud her rational mind but however hard she tried to remain aloof, she was craving for a friendship with Remus Lupin. Bringing out her natural effervescence, Tonks made an effort to not only know him but also to try and ease the tension in her own heart.

The drive seemed to be the shortest either of them took due to the excellent companionship they enjoyed and in no time, Remus was leading a slightly nervous and wandless Tonks into the meeting room of 'Potter Retreat'.

"I knew it…" Tonks exclaimed with glee as soon as she saw Harry and Hermione sitting on a settee, holding hands.

With a bemused smile, Remus offered a cushioned chair for Tonks to sit comfortably and took it upon himself to introduce Hermione's parents and the black dog at the teenaged couple's feet as Snuffles. Tonks immediately cast a suspicious glance at the dog, remembering her mother's words about Sirius' animagus form. To her Snuffles looked exactly like the description of his dog form, Padfoot. She could not say anything about that as she was surprised by the introduction that immediately followed that of Snuffles; Remus had the honour of introducing the two teens as "Harry and Hermione Potter".

"But… but…" Tonks sputtered and then chose to remain silent instead of the impression of a Trout she was making.

Before anyone could offer an explanation, she recovered admirably, "You are soul bonded…" she stated but still got a confirmation from Hermione. "The soul bond protected you from the obliviation effort?" she continued.

"Yes…" Hermione confirmed, "… it was very lucky for us that we bonded immediately after or during the instant that our magical cores exploded…" she was interrupted by the wide-eyed stare from Tonks.

Harry simply shrugged and took up the explanation; they were altering the truth a little, but this was the only way that they could introduce the facts that were known to them without exposing their time travel story. Besides, they also wanted Tonks on their side and for that she had to be convinced that Sirius was innocent. "Yeah! We cornered Peter Pettigrew in his animagus form inside McGonagall's office…" he was again interrupted by an angry outburst from Tonks.

"How is that Possible? Pettigrew was killed by Sirius" she glanced at the dog again before taking a deep breath to control her anger, "… why was the Minister or Madam Bones not told about this?" Tonks began to suspect that her mother's words that Sirius never got a trial were true. She brushed it off before, thinking that there could be no way that such an injustice would have taken place, that there would have been a secret trial. But if she had to believe the words of the 'Boy-Who-Lived' then there was a huge gaffe and the real culprit was roaming free.

"Oh, believe me, we told Fudge" Harry snorted, "… his toady determined that the words of a Half-blood and a muggle-born should not be believed."

Hermione sighed, "He and his toady were unwilling to see beyond the fact that we did not have a magical core. They were determined to banish the 'Boy-Who-Lived' from the magical world; they did not want to believe McGonagall's or Remus' version that Peter Pettigrew was the one that cast a blasting curse at us, which resulted in the loss of our magical cores."

Tonks was silent for a long time thinking about what was said; they did not give her any proof to support their claims, especially as it involved her beloved boss, Madam Amelia Bones. On the other hand she could not deny that her recently growing resentment against the Ministry of Magic had much to do with the highhandedness and marked displeasure over muggle-borns shown by those in power in the Ministry. To that end, she could not really deny that the Minister or his toady, or rather his toady especially, would not act in the way as described by Harry and Hermione. Her thoughts led her to the logical conclusion that the group wanted her to take in confidence because of their need to track down and arrest Peter Pettigrew, something which she was willing to do, especially after getting a magical oath from Remus that her cousin Sirius never had a trial.

Tonks blew out her frustration, "How are we to track him though? There are many ways he could conceal himself with magic and too many places to hide in the magical world."

Harry took the opportunity to pick up a newspaper that was lying innocuously on a low table in front of them and opened it to a specific page. There was a certain news item highlighted which he passed to Tonks. "We believe that he may be at this place" he ventured.

The pink haired auror perused the news with a skeptical look. She was confused as to the significance of a dead caretaker of a run-down Manor, in an out of the way village of Little Hangleton had on their current predicament.

"Riddle Manor in Little Hangleton" Tonks mused out loud, doubt lacing her voice.

In answer, Hermione simply collected a fistful of chips from the word game 'Scrabble' that were kept aside for this specific purpose. With a long practiced hand, she quickly arranged the words to form the phrase, 'I AM LORD VOLDEMORT' much to Tonks' surprise, which quickly turned to shock when it was rearranged to spell, 'TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE'.

Tonks could only stare at the words on the table and alternately gaze at the words on the newspaper in her hand. She grudgingly acknowledged that there was a great chance that the suspicious death of the caretaker of the same Manor house that was the home of Lord Voldemort's family, and the missing death eater could very well be connected.

Before she could acquiesce to their logic, her eyes widened at the sudden implication, "How did you know 'You-Know-Who's' name?" she blurted out.

Harry had to admit that he was surprised at the astuteness of their friend, it was no wonder that she earned the auror badge at a young age. Harry and Hermione glanced around the table at the three adults and a dog but only got non-committal gestures from them. They trusted the feisty woman in the previous lifetime; once she came to know the truth of Sirius' wrongful incarnation and the prejudice in the wizarding world was exposed to her, Tonks was firmly on their side. There was no reason why they could not do so again.

Tightening the grip on Harry's arm, Hermione began the explanation. They need not divulge their source of the information as being from a long expired lifetime, but they could twist the facts enough to make it believable.

"During our second year at Hogwarts, quite a few students were petrified, including me."

Tonks nodded her head, "I heard that but dismissed it as rumors. Seems I was wrong."

Harry just shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, while Hermione rolled her eyes, "… that is pretty much the routine at Hogwarts, and one can barely separate the chaff from the grain. Moreover, the Ministry is mainly concerned with keeping their position safe rather than looking out for the citizens."

Seeing that Hermione was getting into a rant, Harry squeezed her hand in commiseration and broke into her speech, "… any way, the culprit was an artifact of Lord Voldemort which somehow made its way into the castle. It had a part of, what we think is Lord Voldemort's soul…"

Tonks' eyes widened in disbelief and she had to interrupt, "… a horcrux!" she exclaimed.

Almost everyone around the table were surprised at her knowing about the vile things. Harry and Hermione were not sure if she knew about them in the previous timeline; though he was a good man, Dumbledore never liked to reveal his secrets. If only he took the help of people like Tonks, who apparently knew about them or Moody who was sure to know about them, to get rid of the horcruxes, he might have survived the incident with the ring and it would probably have been a lot easier than running around the country to survive. Their decision to bring Tonks into the fold looked more and more like a very good reasoning.

Looking at the expressions she was faced with, Tonks just waved her hand away, "Specialized training under Moody" she said succinctly.

Hermione cleared her throat to garner her attention, "Well then, Harry had to destroy a horcrux to free Ginny Weasley and later on we found that there was another piece in Harry's scar."

Again Tonks' felt as if she was hit with the force of a bludger, "Can a living thing be a horcrux?"

Remus was content to be silent and just observe the young woman but he decided to interject himself into the conversation, it would not bode well for Harry and Hermione to be in the spotlight as experts on horcruxes. "We are not sure, but I was there when a distinct greyish cloud appeared out of Harry's scar. I could be wrong but it seemed to take the shape of a face before letting out a blood curling scream and dying out."

"Oh My!" Tonks exclaimed; it was horrifying to think what kind of mischief such an evil soul was able to do to the mind of Harry Potter. Thankfully, it looked as if the young man was able to survive not only the possession but also the extraction process.

Almost as if he knew what Tonks was thinking, Harry explained, "Either the loss of a magical core due to the blasting curse from Pettigrew, or due to my soul bond with Hermione, the soul piece was extracted out with minimal damage to me."

There was a somber silence after that. Even if everyone around the table came to terms with the events of that day, the memory still brought out an unexplainable terror.

"So, are those all the horcruxes lying about?" Tonks tried to inject some humour but it was evident that even her heart was not in it.

"No" Remus sighed, "Thanks to Lord Black…" he had to hide his snigger when Tonks immediately locked her gaze on the black dog that was trying to seem innocent even though it was quite clear that he was following the conversation. Remus continued explaining about the various horcruxes they managed to neutralize, "… we were able to get two more of the vile things. There was one in Bellatrix LeStrange's vault and another at Grimmauld Place, the home of the Blacks."

"Why is it that the Blacks figure quite prominently in these events?" the pink haired auror sighed.

Harry and Hermione shrugged indifferently even though in truth they knew that more than one member carrying the name Black was against the dark lord. Remus continued unperturbed, he was loathe to keep things from this woman who would be his future wife, but then again, it was Harry and Hermione's story to tell and tell they would once Lord Voldemort was taken care of permanently. For now, Remus would hold his peace and do his part in the war.

"We are not sure if these four are all that he made, but we cannot take any chances" Hermione supplied to Tonks agreement.

Remus was circumspect while offering his opinion, "There are many magical numbers in this world and the prime numbers are the most powerful. I think that we will have to assume that Lord Voldemort would seek to use the magic of those numbers. Three is out and so it may be either seven or thirteen, the next two in line." Even though Harry and Hermione told them all about the horcruxes and their identities, the more he thought about them, the more confident Remus was to believe in the number seven. "Seven would be the most logical…" he murmured more to himself.

He was loud enough for Tonks to hear, either that or she was more attentive to the werewolf, but she agreed to his assessment, "Yeah! Seven would be the most logical, but is it seven parts of the soul or seven horcruxes and an eight part in whatever form he is currently in?"

Everyone at the table had an answer to that but were unwilling to reveal it and so the silence stretched for a few minutes, giving Tonks time to digest the obviously overwhelming information. She shook away her thoughts and turned to Harry, "Why are you doing this? You owe nothing to the magical world, a world that shunned and drove you two away, but you are still trying to rid it off evil. We all know that Lord Voldemort is alive, but he is evidently in a form where he could cause no harm. What do you get out of this?"

"What do we get out of this?" Hermione replied, "… absolutely nothing. But is that not what the older generation did? … Brush off their problems on to the next generation. Whether by divine intervention, providence of his parents, or by sheer luck Harry was able to get rid of Lord Voldemort when he was a baby, what did the others do before or after that?" Hermione was seriously in danger of losing control on her emotions.

"Pretty much nothing…" Remus interrupted in a somber tone. Everyone rejoiced the victory of 'light' over 'dark' that fateful Halloween night and promptly forgot baby Harry's troubles and even about the remaining death eaters. Remus himself was a culprit; he hid behind his affliction and did nothing to ensure that Harry was properly looked after. Now he was being projected as the public face of the group and were hoping that he would take an active part in politics to change the world for the better; Harry went as far as saying that Remus would be the Minister of Magic someday. He was not sure that anyone would accept a werewolf as a Minster but he could not deny Harry's dream and his efforts; he owed him at least that much.

Remus could not continue his trip down self-pity as Harry's next statement struck a chord with him, "Our children would definitely be magical, and I for one do not like to push off my problems onto them. Hermione and I are determined to bring them into a world of peace if not equality; I owe it to them to make an effort at ending the threat of Lord Voldemort."

Though the words were spoken barely above a whisper, they had a prophetic quality. It also showed a stark contrast to the attitudes of a true leader and the Ministry of Magic and the wizarding world in general. Looking at the people surrounding her, Tonks realized that this was a very close knit group and it was especially refreshing for her to be a part of a group of people committed to do their best in getting grid of evil, even if they may not benefit from their efforts. She was sold to the idea and signed up then and there.

When there was nothing else to be discussed Harry and Hermione led the procession out of the meeting room. Tonks was left with the realization and to her mortification, that the black dog she encountered and played with inside the hospital wing of Hogwarts, was actually her cousin and head of house Sirius Black. So it was a very sheepish looking Sirius and an equally pink faced and pink haired auror who were left alone to mend fences.

_**Shared, Power He-Knows-Not**_

The next day, two adults, two teens and a black dog stood on a knoll overlooking the grounds attached to a depilated Manor House in the settlement of Little Hangleton. In its hay day, the Manor House would have been extremely stately and could have acted as a beacon to whom ever wanted to avail of its prominence. Now though, and after the upheaval of the events of one night that left the occupants of the house dead in their sleep, the house lost all its former glory both in terms of architecture and prominence.

The grounds were run over, the plaster peeling off and some of the stones were missing too, making a few of the walls extremely thin. If someone was living inside the house, then they would be very near to braving the elements during a fierce storm or a particularly cold winter. It was good that the inhabitants in the nearby villages were unaware of the two occupants of the house, otherwise the outcome would have been disastrous as the caretaker had come to know before he died.

The five observers were not alone as they though, as Hermione spied a lone figure also watching the house from a relatively shaded place a few feet away and below them on the flatter ground. "Is that Albus Dumbledore?" she exclaimed. Harry knew that Dumbledore visited the place to retrieve the ring but that was before their sixth year. He was not sure if the news about the death of the caretaker of Riddle manor attracted the headmaster's attention, now it was certain that it indeed did. Harry and Hermione were confused and also a bit angry as to why the headmaster did not act to prevent the dark lord from ever gaining a body.

'_I believe that since he not only knew about the prophecy but also suspected about you being a horcrux, he might have felt that you should be the only one to confront him_' Hermione spoke to him over their connection. Harry was not happy with that but he had to agree that it was the most plausible explanation as they knew for certain that the aged wizard saw Harry as a grandson; but that did not help Harry reconcile to the fact that the enormity of the task nearly broke the three teens who were wet behind the ears, and were left to confront the most wicked wizard in all history.

All the eyes on the knoll turned towards the lone man standing with his long beard and grey colour robes moving with the gentle breeze. The aged wizard was looking in the direction of the manor house and was completely oblivious to the surroundings. With what seemed to be an undecided look, the headmaster turned to leave the site.

Acting on a whim, and with a barely perceptible gesture, Harry sent a mental command to the headmaster compelling him to move towards the ramshackle cottage lying on the fringe of the extensive grounds of the Manor House. Harry and Hermione knew that the aged wizard was fatally injured inside the Gaunt shack while looking for the ring, but now they were present at the site and were determined to prevent the same fate. Their main goal in coming was to apprehend Peter Pettigrew and maybe even deliver a crippling or even a fatal blow to Lord Voldemort. Now that the headmaster, who successfully retrieved the ring in the previous lifetime was in their midst, they could not let the chance of getting rid of the ring horcrux go to waste.

With determined strides, the group followed the headmaster who was still enthralled in Harry's spell, to the entrance of the shack. With precision and painstaking care, Dumbledore worked on the various defenses set up on the shack to prevent anyone from seeking the treasure inside it. The five onlookers could not help but be mesmerized by the graceful wand movements that demolished all the traps and finally giving way under the onslaught of the headmaster.

Dumbledore was thrilled, he had a feeling that the resurrection stone that he coveted so much was buried under the floor that he was standing on. Under any other circumstances he would have rightly questioned the haste and the single minded desire to reach his goal, but this was something he wanted most of his long life. Something that would finally give him peace by helping him apologize to his beloved sister for the neglect he had shown and his failure to protect her when needed and so his haste was justified, or so he consoled himself.

The Resurrection Stone that he wanted was set in a ring that was right within his reach and Dumbledore was mesmerized. The impulse to reach out and take the ring into his hand was great and overwhelmed his natural defenses against such mental suggestions. Not only was the compulsion charm put by Lord Voldemort on the ring so strong but Dumbledore's unnatural desire to gain the stone also made him vulnerable. The aged wizard extended his hand to grab the ring but was thwarted at the last moment.

Harry and Hermione along with the others reached the Gaunt shack almost at the same time as Dumbledore was reaching out for the ring horcrux. Without wasting a moment, Harry reached out his hand almost as if he was extending his hand unnaturally long from a distance to snatch the ring away in time; but the effect was totally different.

Working together, Harry and Hermione were able to slow the passage of time enough so that Harry had time to reach Dumbledore and encase the horcrux in spherical shield of energy. Except for Hermione, the rest of them saw Harry moving at inhuman speeds to reach the headmaster in the blink of an eye and conjure the safety shield. Remus and Sirius by virtue of their knowledge, could actually understand what happened even though they could not see it.

Meanwhile, even though he was away from Hermione, Harry was able to sustain the containment shield around the horcrux thanks to the pendant he was wearing but it was proving to be difficult maintaining it for longer time while trying to get back to his wife. Hermione sensed his distress and immediately reached out for his hand, strengthening the protection around the horcrux.

Away from the influence of the horcrux and the Resurrection Stone, Dumbledore was able to gather his wits together. Sighing in relief at his narrow escape, he turned to see Harry Potter holding a ball of energy in which the ring was safely enclosed with one hand and his other hand holding onto his life partner.

The aged wizard did not stop the smile that erupted on his face; seeing two of his most cherished students still together and apparently having magic, lifted his spirits to no end. "Harry my boy" he greeted jovially, "… and Miss Granger… or Mrs. Potter I suppose."

Hermione returned his smile, "Yes sir, I am and have been Mrs. Potter for a while now" she answered much to Dumbledore's pleasure.

Dumbledore turned to greet the others, "Ah! Miss Nymphadora…" totally ignoring the scowl on the young auror's face, he turned to, "Remus, Sirius…" he finished with the head of House Black who returned to his human form.

No one knew how to start a conversation or where to start, there were a lot of uncertainties about the reception of Harry and Hermione, and not to mention the truth about their magic. Dumbledore thankfully, decided to bypass all such inconveniences, "I can see that you are here for something important. Can I ask you what that is?"

Tonks immediately took charge and in her most authoritative voice replied, "We think that Peter Pettigrew is in the manor house, sir. When we saw you entering this shack we decided to follow you…" she trailed off seeing the intense look on her former headmaster's face, "… Sir" she gulped hard and added as an afterthought, much to the amusement of the old man.

"… and I am profoundly thankful that you arrived at the precise moment that I was about to make the biggest blunder of my life" Dumbledore added jovially, almost as if he was taking about a mundane topic of the weather outside.

"How can you be so callous?" Harry was angry at the man who was a mentor and almost the only parental figure in his life before Sirius and Remus, "… you nearly lost your life."

Dumbledore sighed and looked his age at that instant, "... you are correct Harry." He was silent for a little while contemplating whether he should let the younger generation bear his burden or not. His thoughts were interrupted however when everyone's attention was drawn to the brief flare of light from an upper floor window before quickly snuffed out by a drawn curtain.

All those assembled in the shack turned grim. "Maybe we can defer the explanation after we complete the mission you were her for?" Dumbledore stated for everyone's benefit.

Harry quickly stored the offending ring away in a 'mokeskin' pouch that Sirius gave for his birthday and disappeared under his invisibility cloak along with Hermione. Sirius also changed into his animagus form and the six investigators crept stealthily towards the house, where they were certain to meet a traitor; four of them knew for sure that they will meet two instead of the one.

The entire house was dark and dusty as if no one lived in it for a very long, which was actually true. Steps and floorboards creaked almost at every instance and fearing discovery, the group had to make liberal use of every type of concealment charms they knew. The only light was from the fire that was burning in what could be the only room in the entire house that was inhabited; even the light from outside was cut-off by the heavy drapes.

Their progress to the sitting room attached to the master bedroom might not have been as stealthy as they might have thought because as soon as they reached the partially open doorway, a raspy voice was heard, "Wormtail! Is that Nagini?" There was some shuffling sound, probably Wormtail moving towards the door and it was quickly followed by the same voice calling out for Nagini, "Come my pet, I am in need of you."

With no other option but to surprise their adversaries, the group led by Dumbledore barged into the confined room startling the mousy looking Pettigrew to immobility. Beside the frozen wizard, lying on a high backed cushioned chair, was a deformed baby with a face cruelly twisted into a perpetual sneer. The face however was not that of a baby but had an uncanny resemblance to Lord Voldemort when he was at the height of power, right down to the eyes with slits like a snake.

The new entrants, two under the invisibility cloak and one dog animagus were also shocked into immobility at the gruesome sight and that was enough for the homunculus form of Lord Voldemort to act. With his Yew and Phoenix tail feather wand clutched awkwardly in his tiny fist, the dark lord proved to be ferocious even in such a state. With nary a thought to the targets or the consequences, Lord Voldemort shot a flurry of curses, mostly the '_Avada Kedavra_'.

Everyone in the room scattered to escape being hit, with the still invisible Harry and Hermione moving towards the covered window and Remus throwing himself at a stunned Tonks to drag her away behind a table and away from the curses. The black dog simply dropped on his belly and tried to wiggle down the length of the room to get at Pettigrew. Seeing that the others were safe, Dumbledore with the finesse of the conductor of an orchestra shot back his own spells to not only summon items to block the debilitating curses from Lord Voldemort but also to disarm and bind both Peter Pettigrew and Lord Voldemort.

The flurry of curses ended and Lord Voldemort realized that he was in a fix, as he did not have the advantage of mobility. The infantile body that he stole could not even support its own weight let alone move; he had to depend on Pettigrew for that and on Nagini's milk for sustenance. His homunculus form was only meant to be a way by which he could be tethered and not be a free floating form as he was for more than a decade.

Sometimes, even the greatest of people forget a tiny detail and in this instance, Dumbledore forgot that Pettigrew was a rat animagus. As soon as the aged wizard relaxed, Pettigrew transformed into his animagus form intent on escaping. Seizing his chance, the spirit form of Lord Voldemort left his body and in the blink of an eye, the greying cloud which represented the spirit form of the dark lord, latched onto the fleeing rat animagus. Ironically, this existence was similar to the way he possessed Quirrell during Harry and Hermione's first year at Hogwarts.

With an agility that was previously unseen or perhaps due to the presence of a powerful wizard within his body, Pettigrew managed to evade the snapping jaws of Sirius in his Padfoot form. Harry and Hermione were caught unawares when the rat leaped right at them, aiming for the weakened window glass behind them. The two teens were reluctant to reveal themselves to Lord Voldemort and Peter Pettigrew and remained under the invisibility cloak. The entire wizarding world was under the misapprehension that the two lost their magic and that was an advantage they were not willing to lose against the dark lord. However, that had the distinct disadvantage that Dumbledore, Tonks, and Remus could do nothing to try and capture the runaways lest they hit the two teens.

Free from danger, Lord Voldemort hitching a ride on Peter Pettigrew, apparated the two of them away while in mid-air with the last bit of his magic.

'_What do you think, Honey? Should we go back?_' Harry asked his wife in their connected minds.

Hermione gave it the due consideration the situation demanded. She was of the opinion that revealing the true extent of powers to Dumbledore and Tonks was not a good idea, and at the same time, they were also sure that they will have a second chance at encountering Lord Voldemort at the same place they were in during the final of the Triward tournament. '_Besides_' she reasoned, '_we are not sure if all the horcruxes will have to be destroyed before we set up a final confrontation with Riddle._'

Harry could not deny the logic in his wife's argument and so Lord Voldemort and Peter Pettigrew were allowed to escape. Tonks took on the role of an investigative auror at site and secured the two wands in the evidence bag with her; the magical signature of a wizard or a witch was closely tied to the wands that bound to them and the two captured wands may convince her boss to re-examine Sirius' case.

With heavy hearts but still elated with the success of finding another horcrux, the group of six hunters retreated to 'Potter Retreat' in the gathering dusk. Dinner was going to be accompanied by a long discourse.


	8. Chapter 8

**Declaration: ****I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.**

**One-ness**

**Chapter 8**

The usual merriment that accompanied dinner at 'Potter Retreat' was absent that night. The headmaster who was very happy to have found Harry and Hermione, was the only one who looked as if he gained the few years he had lost, while the others were deep in contemplation. Desirous of not touching the most important topic while eating, all of them spoke about what was not at the forefront of their thoughts and so nothing of import was said. The four adults who knew about the teens' ability to manipulate time were curious about their letting Lord Voldemort escape, but mindful of the headmaster and Tonks, they kept their silence.

Meanwhile, the teenaged couple were a little troubled at the ramifications of their decision. They knew that the dark lord would have to use a ritual involving the bone of his father to resurrect himself and therefore, the spot where the ritual would take place too. They even contemplated removing the remains of Tom Riddle Sr. but decided not to, as that would take away the one chance that Harry and Hermione knew for sure wherein they could confront Lord Voldemort. They also knew when the ritual would be used but could not deny that the new twist of a rat bound Voldemort could jeopardize the sequence of events. One thing they knew for certain was that the other horcruxes will have to be eliminated and if Barty Crouch Jr. would act like they knew and take the place of 'Mad-Eye' Moody, then they would have another avenue to track Lord Voldemort's actions.

Mulling things over dinner, Harry and Hermione finally relaxed; they decided that the best thing to do was to allow things to pan out without any more interference from them. To ensure that they would not miss the ritual for resurrecting the dark lord, they would have to put a perimeter charm or an early warning charm around the grave of Tom Riddle Sr. With that decided and moving into the sitting room after dinner, they allowed their attention to turn to the headmaster and wait for the explanation that they hoped would reveal the existence of the three Hallows again.

To get the ball rolling, Harry reiterated his question as to how a master occlumens and someone as experienced as the headmaster succumbed to a simple compulsion charm on the ring.

Dumbledore sighed deeply; he was beginning to feel his age and the devastation of Harry's removal from the wizarding world was felt keenly by him. Looking at the expectant faces around him, Dumbledore felt for the first time as if the new generation was ready to step up to the plate. He was not sure if he felt sad or elated at the prospect, but one thing was for sure, Sirius, Remus, and even young Nymphadora would bear the burden admirably, and of course, Harry and Hermione were always in the thick of the excitement. They may not be acknowledged by the magical world, but Dumbledore knew that the magical world needed this group of remarkable people.

Taking a deep breath, the aged wizard began the tale of the three brothers who outwitted death himself to attain the three Hallows, which gave the bearers power beyond imagination. The ability to win against all odds represented by the unbeatable wand, the power to bring back loved ones with the resurrection stone and even death would not be able to call when covered by the true cloak of invisibility.

Dumbledore laid down his wand before them and asked Harry to bring out the ring bearing a stone that upon closer inspection, had a very strange marking on its face. "I am in possession of one of the three hallows…" he gestured towards the wand before him and continued, "… and you, Harry, are having two of them."

Everyone already knew about Harry's invisibility cloak but the idea that it could be one of the three hallows, something that was legendary struck them dumb, apart from Harry and Hermione of course, who neglected to share that tidbit with the others. The presence of some mythical objects that could defy death was confusing in itself but their presence in their midst could not be readily accepted. Everyone looked towards Harry who appeared calm, and in fact he was. He had all the three hallows with him once and even during that timeline he did not believe in the 'Master of Death' theory and this time it would be no different.

Harry gestured to the ring on the table, "This is the resurrection stone then…" he half-stated.

Even though there was no need for any confirmation, Dumbledore nodded his head resolutely, betraying the faith he had in the legend and in the objects themselves.

Hermione suddenly perked up, "If the cloak that Harry has is the true cloak of invisibility, then how was it possible for you to know when he was around you and under the cloak?" she asked.

"Yeah!" Sirius chimed in, "… even during our time, you always knew that James and I or Remus were under the cloak."

Dumbledore grinned at them, "We old men have our own secrets."

The others did not share his attempted joviality; they glared daggers at the headmaster forcing him to relent. "You young ones do not have the patience of us…" he sighed deeply, though it was said mostly in jest, drudging long forgotten memories was never a good thing. Even though he tried to bury them lest they disturb him more than he would like, Dumbledore was never successful. Especially, the death of his beloved sister at the hands of a wizard who he believed was his best friend, was an open and festering wound.

"I could never see you Harry" he admitted, "Living through multiple wars gave me a keen awareness and added to that I have a heightened sense of hearing. I am usually aware of what was going on in the castle…" he was interrupted by Remus exclamation of, "… the portraits!"

Dumbledore was not offended by the interruption, instead it only showed how intelligent the young man was. "Exactly!" he used the forefingers of both his hands to point towards the werewolf with an endearing smile on his face. "The portraits report to anyone who is in charge of the castle. With the knowledge about your whereabouts, even the rustle of a fabric, either your clothes or the cloak itself usually told me where someone was trying to be invisible. After that, it was mostly guess work as to who would be underneath, not that it mattered most of the times."

The silence stretched for a few minutes but it was not oppressive, it gave everyone the chance to digest the matter at hand. "So my cloak is the true cloak of invisibility?" he asked more for his own satisfaction more than anything else and got a response in the affirmative. "… and all the three hallows must be under one man's hand for them to overcome death?"

The headmaster sighed, he had an inclination of what was going to come and so tried to ease the way in, "Yes my boy, the only way to get the cloak is through inheritance and so you or your children are the only ones who can truly own the cloak. At least in this generation, the three hallows can never be united."

"Not to mention that I can never use a wand again…" Harry reminded him.

"That is not a problem Harry" Tonks interjected, "You can always use a wand that was not tied to your magical signature and be sure that you are not detected by the Ministry."

Hermione gave her a rueful smile, "Thanks Tonks, but the fact is that we _cannot_ use wands."

Dumbledore closed his eyes in pain, "You lost your magical core" he supplied succinctly.

Tonks took a few moments to process the information but she was still nonplussed, "But… but…" she sputtered. An unabashedly grinning Sirius used his hand to close her mouth and regain her composure. Giving her cousin a death glare, she continued, "I saw you using magic, far powerful magic than I have seen even from the headmaster."

Even Dumbledore appeared interested in the answer, but Harry and Hermione knew that they would have to disappoint them. They had nothing against Tonks or the headmaster but the teens were not ready to relate the entire story of their time travel. Maybe Tonks would come to know in the future but not now, and so he just shrugged his shoulder.

Sharing a quick mental discussion with Hermione, Harry simply raised his right arm and willed the Elder wand into his hand and the wand obeyed, tearing itself away from the aged wizard's grasp. Even Dumbledore was shocked at the display; he knew enough about wandless magic that he was able to recognize that Harry did not use magic as was normally done by witches or wizards. It was something else, something more powerful than generally known. What worried him was the easy way in which the Elder wand transferred its allegiance, almost as if it was meeting a long lost friend. All of this when Harry claimed that he could not use a wand. Dumbledore knew not what to think and desperately tried to contain his curiosity but was unsuccessful to a large extent as was Tonks.

Harry saw that the two adults who did not know of their history were about to barge into what was an uncomfortable realm for him and his wife. In an effort to distract them, Harry passed the 'death stick' to Hermione who accepted it without batting an eye.

"Now who is the real owner of the Wand?" Hermione enquired.

When Dumbledore looked on in confusion, Harry elaborated, "I have a soul bond with my wife. We are two but still one."

The headmaster suddenly perked up. May be this was the answer to his problems, two powerful individuals able to use the most powerful wand with equal ease. An unbeatable wand in the hands of an unbeatable couple. His elation came crashing down when he realized…

"It's a pity that we cannot use the wand…" Hermione grinned at her husband.

Dumbledore let out a sigh of helplessness at the situation. As far as he knew the two teens were quite powerful, probably even enough to take down Lord Voldemort by themselves, but he was saddened that the Elder wand could not be used in such a quest. Though he would not put much stock in divination, Dumbledore always hoped that the owner of the single most powerful magical object, the 'true cloak of invisibility, in this case Harry, would be able to unite the three Hallows and bring about peace. In his very long life, Dumbledore did not meet anyone who was as unassuming and as worthy to wield the three Hallows together as Harry Potter, but now it was not to be.

Almost as if he was able to listen to Dumbledore's thoughts, Harry spoke up, "We humans cannot hold that much power, sir. There cannot be a mortal who can defy death. I believe that there is only one master of death and that is the one who created everything, even death."

While everyone around the table could not but agree to the logic of Harry's words, Dumbledore was a little reluctant. He wanted to use the resurrection stone for himself at least once before he would pass it onto Harry; he wanted to meet his sister once before he could pass onto to the next great adventure. With the chance taken away from him, Dumbledore had no other choice but to concede defeat and agree to Harry's assessment with a fair mind. He took the wand back from Harry and sighed, "I always wanted to pass on this wand to you Harry, as my legacy. I knew that you would eventually meet Lord Voldemort and I wanted to give you all the advantages that I could. If not the three Hallows together, at least the unbeatable wand. But now…" he turned the wand in his hands in contemplation.

Dumbledore could feel a subtle difference in how the wand felt in his hands. Oh! He could still use it to get the desired results, but it was evident to him that he did not have the wand's complete and utter loyalty.

"Take it to the grave I suppose…" Sirius interjected, shrugging his shoulders and got hit upside his head by his cousin in response. From there on it turned into a melee of flying hands and flying accusations of childish antics, with even Remus joining in the fun. After a tense and danger prone evening, the banter between the three was a welcome relief. Even the weary headmaster was able to relax for once and enjoy some time with the teen aged husband and wife.

But like all things, even that night had to come to an end. "I believe that the bloody history of the wand has finally come to an end my boy" Dumbledore declared. Pointing to the ring containing the resurrection stone, he continued, "But this … this has to be destroyed, and I am going to do it."

Hermione immediately objected, "No sir. We want to use this one as a diving rod to identify other horcruxes."

"Can it be done?" Tonks questioned.

Harry shrugged his shoulders noncommittally. "There is no harm in trying. The Goblins were able to sense that the soul piece in my scar was destroyed." No one was sure if it could be done and even if it was not possible, the family of six did not care. They just needed a ruse to pick up the other horcruxes starting with Ravenclaw's diadem which was by far the easiest to obtain. Using one of the horcrux and some mumbo-jumbo looked like an attractive option and Harry was not averse to use any deception if they could keep their knowledge of the horcruxes' location a secret. Entering the castle would also give them the chance to make some extra money out of the dead Basilisk even if it was disguised as a way to destroy the other horcruxes, not that Harry or Hermione needed the money, but it was a waste to let some very rare potion ingredients to go waste.

_**Shared, Power He-Knows-Not**_

The news of an auror encountering the supposedly dead Peter Pettigrew and worse, a very much alive dark lord, scared the daylights off the top brass at the Ministry of Magic. As soon as Madam Bones saw the memory of the fight and subsequent flight of Lord Voldemort at Riddle Manor, she mobilized a contingent to scour the depilated house. While nothing much of import could be found in the house, the secret of the man called Lord Voldemort was finally out. With Dumbledore supporting Tonks' views on the matter, there was nothing else to do than to accept that Lord Voldemort was once known as Tom Marvolo Riddle.

Even though it was a very important discovery, it was not earth shattering too, as nothing of import could be obtained with that information. No one really took any notice of the graveyard that was adjoining the house, even Dumbledore could not attach any significance to Lord Voldemort's stay in the Riddle Manor. It was brushed away as a bid for the dark lord to stay away from the spot light.

When Fudge learnt of a special session in Wizengamot to acquit Sirius Black of all offenses, he was apoplectic. He was adamant that Black was guilty of being a traitor to the Potters and even with Pettigrew alive, refused to consider an alternate explanation.

"Black must have been there, he must have hidden from you and gone after 'You-Know-Who' as soon as you left" Fudge tried to bluster.

Everyone who was in the room, even his transcriber, a gentle old lady, understood that the Minister was grasping at thin air. He made up his mind about something and he was going to be unmoved on that, however unreasonable his stand may be. Fudge was never a clever man and mainly due to some subtle maneuvering by those with money power, was able to attain the position of Minister. He in turn did everything he could to keep his benefactors happy, even if that included making laws that forbid people like Remus Lupin a means to earn honest wages.

The man was sitting right in front of the Under-secretary to the Minister, Umbridge much to the disgust of the woman. However, they could do nothing about it as he was a special guest of the headmaster Dumbledore. Moreover, the head of DMLE, Madam Bones was in admiration of the man's courage and requested his presence.

Not only Madam Bones, but the entire auror force watched the confrontation that took place in the Riddle Manor through Tonks' memories. While they were in awe of the decisive and quick reflexes of the greatest wizard after Merlin, the aurors were also not unintelligible to the extreme courage shown by Remus Lupin. Even a veteran auror would say that the first thing they would do in face of such an onslaught was to hide behind a solid object. Mr. Lupin, however, threw himself into danger to protect one of their own from a killing curse that was heading straight for her. If that was not worth admiring someone for, then there would be no bravery in the world.

Fudge did not know the complete details of what happened during the confrontation with the dark lord, but just the fact that Dumbledore and Madam Bones insisted that the werewolf was a very reliable and important witness meant that the Minister and his toady had to swallow their resentment and be polite to the man. That did not mean that Fudge would believe him easily.

Remus managed to smother his snort of disgust but Tonks was not that disciplined, but still managed to keep her eye roll hidden from the Minister, as everyone was concentrating on the head of DMLE rebuke the Minister's prejudiced opinions. "I do not agree with that Minister" Madam Bones was gentle in her admonition, "… the forensics team that was led by Miss Tonks could not find any evidence of Mr. Black. All the available clues point to the presence of only two wizards, Peter Pettigrew and 'You-Know-Who' living there."

It was a very good thing that Tonks was chosen as the head of the forensics team as she was able to cover the evidence of Sirius' presence from the accompanying auror team. Tonks did confess to her boss about the fact though, and the support of Dumbledore along with a memory showing Sirius' transformation into his 'padfoot' form to take part in the assault against Lord Voldemort was enough to convince Madam Bones of his innocence. One entire evening was spent in resolving all issues with both Remus and Dumbledore present and though Sirius was not present at that time to defend himself, all that was left to declare Sirius a free man was to convince the Minister.

Umbridge was barely able to restrain her contempt at the presence of a werewolf and a half-blood in the Minister's domain, she would even consider it sacrilegious, if she was a pious woman but she was deathly afraid of the head of DMLE. The two women were always at loggerheads and the head of DMLE came up trumps every time. The presence of the headmaster of Hogwarts also rendered her momentarily speechless much to the gratitude of the others in the room. Fudge on the other hand was torn between two extremities.

"I have full confidence in your aurors Madam Bones…" he tried to lay the blame on the auror team, especially an inexperience Tonks and still not offend the formidable woman in front of him. Little did he know that Madam Bones had a good opinion of the young woman right from the start and the courage and the adept handling of the situation at the Riddle Manor only increased her esteem. "… but Black was a very dangerous killer. He could have very well concealed his presence and would have run away as soon as his master escaped."

"If he was there, it would have been to get at Peter Pettigrew" Remus snorted in derision at the misplaced stubbornness of the Minister.

Umbridge bristled in anger but it was the Minister Fudge that tried to assert his authority over the group, "All of this does not matter. I am the minister and I say that Black is a killer. He escaped from Azkaban where he was being held for his crimes and he will have to be brought back. Anyone who is supporting Sirius Black or tries to delay justice will be punished to the fullest extent of law."

Proud of himself for standing up to those who tried to oppose him, Fudge began basking under the imaginary glory. His triumph was cut short however when Dumbledore reminded him of one pertinent point, "You have to remember Cornelius, that Mr. Black was never convicted of his crimes. At least as far as I remember, the case never came to the Wizengamot like many others crimes of such nature. You were part of the war crimes tribunal along with Barty Crouch. You were in a hurry to celebrate the downfall of Lord Voldemort and simply decided his guilt." The aged headmaster peered down at the decidedly uncomfortable Minister who was trying to make himself as small as possible.

Remus, Tonks, and Amelia Bones were shocked at the serious miscarriage of justice. Remus knew from Sirius that he could not remember most of the incident except that Sirius was going on and on about how he was responsible for the deaths of James and Lily Potter. He always thought that the shock of losing his friends might have resulted in amnesia and so Sirius' silence or blathering might have been construed as his guilt. To learn that there was no trial at all was disconcerting. Tonks and Amelia were simply lamenting at the abysmal standards of the law enforcement wing.

No one missed the visible shudder that passed through the under-secretary Umbridge. While they all wrote it off as the ingrained reaction to the name of 'You-Know-Who', her fear was more rational and more to the present. She knew that the dark lord would not harm her as she was a good pure-blood; she detested those of impure blood and especially creatures like the one sitting before her. No, her fear was the possibility that Sirius Black could be innocent. Umbridge was seriously scared of that man. Especially now with the possibility that he could be innocent and had to endure Azkaban for twelve long years, he would be out for blood. In a flash of insight, Umbridge realized that anyone tied to Minister Fudge would very well be the target of Black's ire. For something of this magnitude to follow after the furor they created in the callous treatment of the 'Boy-Who-Lived', Umbridge was sure that the Minister would not survive. The under-secretary was honest enough to acknowledge to herself that no one in the ministry would defend her if it came to that. She would have to stack her bets with the Minister, and if everything else fails she could always remove herself to the continent, she always wanted to go to Paris.

Fudge may not be very intelligent but he was also adept at saving his own skin, "It was Barty, who was the head of the team and he wanted a quick resolution. I just went with the idea…" he protested weakly.

Amelia was quick to douse that hope too, "… but you were part of the tribunal and you should have protested the lack of hearing. Especially if it looked like someone was trying to steamroll through, the other members should take more interest in the proceedings."

"Alright… alright…" the Minister finally threw the towel in and raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, "… Chief Warlock, please call a special session of the Wizengamot to discuss this case." Turning to the head of DMLE, he continued, "… and Madam Bones, please send someone to Black and escort him to the session."

Fudge sighed in relief sure that he managed to salvage some points out of the debacle. However, Remus was quick to squash even that hope, "You will have to exonerate _Lord_ Black…" he emphasized Sirius' status much to the dismay of Fudge and Umbridge. Remus derived some vindictive pleasure out of that before continuing, "… Lord Black will not be returning to the wizarding world for some time and so you will have to acquit him the same way as you sentenced him, in absentia."

"Mr. Lupin, May I know why?" Amelia was all politeness when asking that question. She was also surprised that Sirius would not be coming back to the magical world, especially after claiming his birthright.

"Sirius was kept away from his duty of taking care of his godson for all these years for no other reason than the whim of a few people. Now that he has the chance, he will be looking after him…" and waiting for a moment to ensure he had the attention of the three ministry employees other than Tonks, he delivered the final blow, "… Harry Potter."

Fudge and Umbridge paled further, if that was even possible. However, in a sudden stroke of inspiration, Umbridge latched onto something that could save their positions and also ensure that both Sirius Black and Harry Potter would be under their control, if they ever venture into the wizarding world. "Minister, we should provide Lord Black with a master auror as his bodyguard. With his status as a fugitive even in the muggle world, it may not be safe for him to go looking for the 'Boy-Who-Lived' all alone. Even if Mr. Lupin…" there was no masking the distaste in her words, "… was with him, it would be good to have someone with authority."

Fudge caught on very quickly, "Yes… yes, capital idea. I will ensure that someone that I trust will always be there with Lord Black."

Amelia could not help but marvel at the audacity of the Minister and his toady. She was sure that whatever the Minister planned was not out of benevolence to either Sirius Black or Harry Potter. On the other hand, she also wanted to keep an eye on the two, if only to protect them and she had the perfect opportunity to do so. She made a decision, "Minister, I would think that auror Tonks would be the best for this. Not only is she a member of the House of Black, she is also well versed with the muggle world and so would be the best for this assignment."

"That may be true Madam Bones, but auror Tonks does not have the requisite experience to be able to react to danger…" Fudge was clutching at straws. Though he was the Minister of Magic, Madam Bones was the head of the DMLE and the auror force, and technically she has the authority over all such duties.

The head of DMLE smiled inwardly at her triumph, "Senior Auror Tonks deserved her well-earned field promotion Minister…" she smiled indulgently at the shocked look on Tonks' face. "Not only did she manage the forensic investigation admirably, but also led an assault on a huge snake that was lurking in the shadows. We believe that it was the familiar of 'You-Know-Who'."

Dumbledore could not hide his pleasure after hearing the news and so was happy to confirm Madam Bones' opinion taking the time to express his sincere congratulations to the young woman. While Remus was happy about the promotion, he was elated to hear that a potential horcrux was removed but that was also overshadowed by a little hurt about hearing the news in such a way. His low mood disappeared instantly when he caught the apologetic look Tonks gave him and understood that she did not have the time to let the family know.

Fudge could do nothing but accept the orders with as little grace as he could get away without confirming the suspicion of the others.

Madam Bones knew that Tonks already met Sirius and was also confident in the loyalty of her newest senior auror. While most of the times, the Head of a House may override any free will, Tonks assured her boss that Sirius would not hold her loyalty to the DMLE above the loyalty to the House of Black. He was determined to change the outlook of the house so that they may never be called into question by the DMLE, thus avoiding any conflict of interest.

Dumbledore was also happy with the arrangement as it would allow Tonks to join in the search for the remaining horcruxes. He did not know that Harry and Hermione, along with Remus and Sirius already knew what and where the other horcruxes were but the presence of three people who were trained enough to handle danger and protect the teens was a balm to his troubled heart. So, Madam Bones and Dumbledore went away from the meeting with a bounce in their steps.

Later, on the drive together to the 'Potter Retreat' Remus was free to indulge in his happiness at having the bubbly woman in his company for the foreseeable future. He was even more ecstatic to learn that the snake was indeed a horcrux and the only reason why Tonks could not tell them was due to the fact that as soon as she was back from the investigation, she was in Madam Bones' company and did not even get to sleep. Tonks was also happy to learn that she will be in the warm company of the man who was beginning to make a mark on her heart. Tough she was sensible to the difficulties that may arise due to Remus being a werewolf; she was courageous enough to follow her heart's yearning.

_**Shared, Power He-Knows-Not**_

Meanwhile, all was not well with Lord Voldemort. In fact he was having a distinct sense of déjà vu. He now had to depend upon another for even his mobility, just like he was more than two years ago. However, this time it was degrading, as he had to rely on Peter Pettigrew in his rat form for not only mobility but also his sustenance. Lord Voldemort wanted to relieve his frustration by firing off a few 'cruciatus' curses especially on the rat he was riding on.

What was worse was that without any magic to his name, Lord Voldemort could not even survive in any corporeal form. Even though he possessed Quirrell before, he had the magic supplied by Unicorn blood for his continued existence outside the wizard's body he was depending upon. This time however, he did not even have that luxury. The little amount of reserve magic he painstakingly horded by drinking his familiar Nagini's milk, was lost during his fight with Dumbledore and subsequent apparition to escape. He was only able to apparate to the other side of the town and when he thought that it was safe to go back inside the house, they nearly ran into a team of aurors scouring the house for clues. Lord Voldemort had to abandon any hopes of taking refuge in that house again and so had to order Pettigrew to move around. It was going to be a very long time until he could get a body and therefore a magical core. He had no choice but to wait in patience till the time he could take out his frustrations on his inept minions, until that time he had to grit his teeth and live with the humiliation.

Added to that, and all of a sudden, Pettigrew grew a backbone to challenge his master. He refused to transform into his wizard form even when they were hidden very well from prying eyes. Lord Voldemort was not used to having his demands rebuffed but Pettigrew continued to move and even sleep in his rat form. The wizard was quite comfortable in his animagus from due to his living with the Weasleys for more than twelve years. Besides, the rat form needed much lower magical energy to maintain and very small amount of food. Lord Voldemort could do nothing but swallow his pride and share the mortification of digging into garbage.

One thing the dark lord was thankful for was that they did not have to move for any great distance, he was not sure if Pettigrew could make it in his current form. Lord Voldemort had to stay close to the grave of his father if he was to gain a body and he had the perfect plan for that before it all went south. He wanted to rant and rave when Barty Crouch Jr. gave him the news that his arch nemesis, Harry Potter did not have magic any longer and so was banished from the magical world. He now would have to use someone else for his plan.

The magic of the ritual just needed the blood of an enemy and anyone would have sufficed for that, but Lord Voldemort wanted to use the 'Boy-Who-Lived' for getting his body back. Not that he considered the fourteen year old wizard any special, but there must have been something special in him that thwarted the most powerful wizard the last time. If the death of the one who thwarted him all those years ago would give him an easy victory, he would take it.

'Well' Lord Voldemort mused, 'I will have to command Barty to use the other boy … what was his name? … Wesley or something, for the ritual. He at least played a part in helping Potter from preventing me to get my hands on the Philosopher's stone. The boy must have been an intelligent and a powerful wizard, and he was a pureblood too.' Lord Voldemort was relieved that there was another wizard out there that could be used to regain his body. Now there was only one thing to do and that was to survive the intervening period.

Pettigrew was snoring away in his rat form, well… as much as a rat can, and so Lord Voldemort decided that he could also use a nap. It would be the first time that he was able to relax after running away from his father's manor and he was getting tired, so much so that he was even unable to think straight.

Suddenly his blood ran cold as he spied a cat on the prowl, "Move you fool…" he screamed in impotent rage, but still that did the trick.


End file.
